RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Found a Bug? Squash It! Report Bugs Here
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / On DVD / Meet Bill
Meet Bill

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Buy Poster External Icon
Bookmark and Share

Meet Bill (2008)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
20 %
Tomatometer
Template ImageTemplate Image

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted:20

Fresh:4

Rotten:16

Average Rating:3.8/10

Runtime: 1 hr 35 mins

Synopsis: Meet Bill (Aaron Eckhart)—a doormat if there ever was one. A man reduced to a mere accessory to his family by working a dead end job at his father-in-law's bank, Bill's wife Jess (Elizabeth Banks)... Meet Bill (Aaron Eckhart)—a doormat if there ever was one. A man reduced to a mere accessory to his family by working a dead end job at his father-in-law's bank, Bill's wife Jess (Elizabeth Banks) is loathe to explain her "friendship" with the local news anchorman (Timothy Olyphant). But Bill's fate begins to change when he becomes mentor to a self-assured boy (Logan Lerman) who engineers Bill's recovery with the help of a cute lingerie sales girl named Lucy (Jessica Alba). Together, the trio confronts Bill's hapless life with humor and energy while forcing him to capture his dream of being financially independent and self-confident. Directed by Bernie Goldmann and co-writer Melisa Wallack. --© Zeitgeist Films [More]

Starring: Aaron Eckhart, Jessica Alba, Elizabeth Banks, Timothy Olyphant

Starring: Aaron Eckhart, Jessica Alba, Elizabeth Banks, Timothy Olyphant, Logan Lerman, Craig Bierko, Kristen Wiig, Jason Sudeikis, Todd Louiso

Director: Melissa Wallack, Bernie Goldmann

Director: Melissa Wallack, Bernie Goldmann
Screenwriter: Melissa Wallack
Producer: John Penotti, Fisher Stevens, Matthew Rowland
Composer: Edward Shearmur
Studio: First Look

[See More Credits]

  • Trailers
  • Pictures
  • Trailer
    >
1 of 1

See More Movie Trailers & Pictures

Reviews for Meet Bill

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by rotten rating; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | comment Comment
10/18/08
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
10/18/08
G. Allen Johnson
G. Allen Johnson
San Francisco Chronicle

Not awful or offensive, but pretty weak broth nonetheless.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles CityBeat | comment Comment
06/20/08
Andy Klein
Andy Klein
Los Angeles CityBeat

With a pair of first-time directors at the helm, one of whom bears responsibility for the script, Meet Bill is a clash of poorly conceived and executed scenes lacking sense, continuity and entertainment value.

Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
05/23/08
Bill White
Bill White
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

For those whose idea of hilarity is an adult and a kid throwing fireworks at each other, then getting stoned and playing piggyback in the mall, this movie should be a refreshing tonic.

Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
05/23/08
Bill White
Bill White
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

It doesn't take long for Bill to suddenly veer off course into total impenetrability, where the characters become a blur, the hacky visual poetry is rolled out, and the plot drops dead.

Full Review Source: BrianOrndorf.com | comment Comment
07/21/08
Brian Orndorf
Brian Orndorf
BrianOrndorf.com

Clunky and smug, Meet Bill isn't convincing for one moment.

Full Review Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press | comment Comment
04/04/08
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
St. Paul Pioneer Press

Meet Bill misfires on multiple levels, but its foremost mistake is focusing on a sad-sack underachiever. Bill doesn't believe in himself, so why should we?

Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | comment Comment
04/03/08
Colin Covert
Colin Covert
Minneapolis Star Tribune

Not even a solid performance can keep the script's problems at bay.

Full Review Source: DVDTalk.com | comment Comment
07/28/08
David Cornelius
David Cornelius
DVDTalk.com

Husband-and-wife helmers Melisa Wallack and Bernie Goldmann make all the wrong choices, from the grimacing they've encouraged their large (and largely wasted) cast to indulge in, to the musical riffs that signal each and every dramatic beat.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
09/14/07
Eddie Cockrell
Eddie Cockrell
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Male midlife crisis presents as pathological self-loathing in Meet Bill, an imperative to which the only sane response is: No thanks.

comment Comment
05/09/08
Jeannette Catsoulis
Jeannette Catsoulis
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It tries hard to mimic the arch tone of the best suburban tragicomedies (American Beauty, et al.), but a surfeit of stock characters, double-wide plot holes and heavy-handed symbolism ruins the effect.

Full Review Source: L.A. Weekly | comment Comment
06/12/08
Julia Wallace
Julia Wallace
L.A. Weekly

Even a hilarious turn by Kristen Wiig as the owner of a doughnut company can't save this clichéd, meandering story from playing like American Beauty lite.

Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | comment Comment
05/07/08
Loren Lankford
Loren Lankford
Entertainment Weekly

The story of a man (Aaron Eckhart) grappling with middle-age ennui at work and at home feels done to death, as does the distracting addition of a spunky rich-kid high schooler.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
06/13/08
Mark Olsen
Mark Olsen
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

When all is said and done, Bill is let down by Bill.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment Comment
09/17/07
Michael Rechtshaffen
Michael Rechtshaffen
Hollywood Reporter
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Hollywood.com | comment Comment
10/01/08
Pete Hammond
Pete Hammond
Hollywood.com

This movie never should have seen the light of day.

Full Review Source: Ebert & Roeper | comment Comment
05/12/08
Richard Roeper
Richard Roeper
Ebert & Roeper

Takes scattershot aim at all manner of appropriate targets—the vapid nature of local television news, the perceived stigma of standing out from the pack in America, the dilemma of dreams deferred and abandoned—but rarely hits the comic bull’s-eye.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
05/09/08
Shlomo Schwartzberg
Shlomo Schwartzberg
Boxoffice Magazine

Discovering your real self is the theme of Meet Bill, in which Bill has to work hard to finally meet himself

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
01/23/09
Andrew L. Urban
Andrew L. Urban
Urban Cinefile

As the movie goes on, you actually end up rooting for this schmuck to take charge of his life, and in a way, the movie is sort of inspiring.

Full Review Source: Sin Magazine | comment Comment
06/08/08
Austin Kennedy
Austin Kennedy
Sin Magazine
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by rotten rating; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
See All

More DVDs

Top Rentals
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
14% 14% The Ugly Truth
98% 98% Up
36% 36% G.I. Joe: The Rise of …
52% 52% The Taking of Pelham 1…
45% 45% Ice Age: Dawn of the D…

More Rentals…

New On DVD This Week
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
32% 32% Terminator Salvation
44% 44% Night at the Museum: B…
86% 86% A Christmas Tale
60% 60% Paper Heart

More New Releases…

What’s Hot On RT

Twilight Saga: Eclipse

Twilight Saga: Eclipse

5 facts straight from the cast.

Disney Animation

Disney Animation

We chart the studio's classics.

Avatar

Avatar

An exclusive look at the human hardware.

Eric Bana

Eric Bana

The Star Trek star talks cars with RT.

Other News

  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • Don't Hold Your Breath for Hancock 2 Source: HitFix
14
  • Peter Berg Talks Battleship Source: CHUD
0
  • Summit Ponders Twilight Finale Source: Variety
114
  • First Look at Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Source: USA Today
40
  • Jeremy Renner Talks Hawkeye Possibilities Source: Superhero Hype
14
  • Todd Phillips Talks The Hangover 2 Source: Entertainment Weekly
18
  • Tron Legacy Duo Heading into The Black Hole Source: Hollywood Reporter
9
  • First Iron Man 2 Poster Released Source: Yahoo! Movies
80
  • Ryan Reynolds Talks Green Lantern Source: MTV
16
  • Paul Greengrass Quits Fourth Bourne Source: The Playlist
36
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Ban Them All! 10 Infamously Controversial Movies
98
  • Friday Harvest: The Road, Avatar, and more!
96
  • 5 Facts About The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
91
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: Vampires and Football Break Thanksgiving Records
36
  • Total Recall: Natalie Portman's Best Movies
30
  • Weekly Ketchup: Zombieland 2 in 3D?
28
  • Five Favorite Films with Jesse Ventura
22
  • RT on DVD & Blu-Ray: Terminator Salvation and a Smithsonian Battle
18
  • Duncan Jones Reteams With Kevin Spacey
5
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
17
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
11
  • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary
21
  • James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
8
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
15
  • Terry Gilliam Talks Doctor Parnassus
22
  • Wes Anderson Talks Fantastic Mr. Fox - RT Interview
9
  • Wolverine Creator Len Wein Talks About the Film
28
  • Gavin Hood Talks Wolverine; Possible Sequel
28
  • Duncan Jones talks Moon, Sam Rockwell, and Mute
14
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • Meet Bill at Rotten Tomatoes
  • Meet Bill at IGN

Fresh Links

Featured
RT on YouTube
RT on YouTube External Link

Subscribe to RT's YouTube channel and don't miss a second of our cracking video content.

RT on Twitter
RT on Twitter External Link

Follow Rotten Tomatoes and join us as we tweet about the week's releases.

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive | Green Pixels


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.