While this little wrencher works, cinematically, perfectly well, the truth is, this one is going to piss off a whole lot of people.
My Sister's Keeper (2009)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:125
Fresh:58
Rotten:67
Average Rating:5.6/10
Consensus: My Sister's Keeper gets fine performances from its adult and child actors, but the director's heavy-handed approach turns a worthy emotional subject into an overly melodramatic tearjerker.
Rated: 12A [See Full Rating] for mature thematic content, some disturbing images, sensuality, language, and brief teen drinking.
Runtime: 1 hr 50 mins
Genre: Dramas
Theatrical Release:26-06-2009
Synopsis: THE NOTEBOOK's Nick Cassavetes directs another tearjerking literary adaptation with this drama based on Jodi Picoult's novel. Cameron Diaz takes a detour from comedy to play Sara, the domineering... THE NOTEBOOK's Nick Cassavetes directs another tearjerking literary adaptation with this drama based on Jodi Picoult's novel. Cameron Diaz takes a detour from comedy to play Sara, the domineering mother of Kate (Sofia Vassilieva, MEDIUM), a young girl with cancer. Sara’s other daughter, 11-year-old Anna (Abigail Breslin), was conceived just to serve as a donor for her sick sister. On the outskirts of the family are father Brian (Jason Patric), who feels unable to stand up to his wife’s strength, and son Jesse (Evan Ellingson), who craves attention in the face of Kate’s illness. But the complicated situation gets more difficult when Anna hires a lawyer (played by the always excellent Alec Baldwin), so that she can control her own body and say "no" to giving a kidney to her sister. Cassavetes and Picoult both traffic in tears, so MY SISTER’S KEEPER is a perfect match between director and source writer. Even the most jaded viewers will find it hard to keep their eyes dry in the face of this emotional family tragedy, so audiences are warned to have tissues parked next to their popcorn. This drama’s stellar cast also includes Thomas Dekker as Kate’s cancer-stricken love and Joan Cusack as the judge who presides over Anna’s case. [More]
Starring: Cameron Diaz, Abigail Breslin, Alec Baldwin, Sofia Vassilieva
Starring: Cameron Diaz, Abigail Breslin, Alec Baldwin, Sofia Vassilieva, Joan Cusack, Jason Patric, Thomas Dekker, Emily Deschanel, Lin Shaye
Director: Nick Cassavetes
Director: Nick Cassavetes
Screenwriter: Jeremy Leven, Nick Cassavetes
Producer: Mark Johnson, Chuck Pacheco, Scott L. Goldman
Composer: Aaron Zigman
Studio: Warner Bros.
Reviews for My Sister's Keeper
Makeup department realism alone can't redeem the dramatic fallacies surrounding it.
My Sister's Keeper is a shameless weepy, one of the most manipulative and fundamental of genres, but it also raises some surprisingly difficult and thought-provoking ethical questions.
If you're going to make a weepy, there's no reason you can't make it with intelligence and insight as the makers of My Sister's Keeper have done.
Cameron Diaz gives a strong dramatic turn in Cassavetes uneven family melodrama, which begins well with poignant probing of timely issues like social engineering before turning into conventional courtroom tale that deviates from the book's tone and ending
Latest News for My Sister's Keeper
July 26, 2009:
Win a poster signed by Cameron Diaz
How would you like to have a poster of Cameron Diaz on your wall -- signed by the lady herself? To celebrate this week's release of Cameron's latest film, My Sister's Keeper,... More...
June 27, 2009:
Easily the most poignant picture of the year, achieved without resorting to manipulative soap opera devices. ![]()
More...
June 25, 2009:
Critics Consensus: Transformers 2 Is Less Than Meets The Eye
This week at the movies, we've got robots in disguise (Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, starring Megan Fox and Shia LaBeouf) and a family in disrepair (My Sister's Keeper,... More...
June 25, 2009:
Box Office Guru Preview: Transformers Set to Smash Records
This summer's major artillery has taken over North American multiplexes with the mid-week launch of the action tentpole Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen which aims to become... More...
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