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Reviews Counted:16
Fresh:4
Rotten:12
Average Rating:3.6/10
Writer/director/actor Ari Gold has made a competent student film that would graduate him from any film school with flying colors--that's to say, here is an example of a filmmaker who hasn't yet begun to find his own voice.
It's not the rough edges that bother here; it's the desperate attempt to capture Napoleon Dynamite's success by relying on oddball characters and off-the-wall scenarios.
Underdog comedy is no Napoleon Dynamite.
The film's penchant for dorky nostalgia -- especially '70s and '80s-era music -- quickly becomes irritating. It deserves a real tongue-lashing for trying to re-introduce the inexplicable Mr. Mister hit "Kyrie" into the American consciousness.
Forgive the film its Napoleon Dynamite overquirk; a loving god is watching all, genuflected to on bedroom-wall posters and seen in the film’s final five minutes -- and if you’re not a Rush fan, this is not your movie.
So would-be hip it hurts, Adventures of Power is barely watchable, despite the presence of such pros as Michael McKean and Jane Lynch.
Not even the always reliable talents of McKean and Lynch can help pull this comedy out of its ironic slump.
For all the cheap shots in Gold’s script, Adventures of Power views air-drumming with a surprising affection.
The playful plot with go-figure ending is bubbly, and the mechanics of the film are on-point for the most part.
Gold places his fond comedy in the '80s with all the cinematic skill of early MTV.
Top CriticThe film -- despite some successful goofs and a defiantly dorky Phil Collins tribute -- can't quite win for trying.
Your enjoyment of Adventures of Power will be proportional to your tolerance for the one-joke phenomenon of air drumming.
Top CriticWith its quirky costume and production design choices, self-indulgent pic gives Wes Anderson haters an easy new target.
Top CriticA pretty agonizing affair.
Gold attempts to show Power as a "Napoleon Dynamite"-like charmer, but Gold's spastic performance induces more cringes than smiles.
The rhythm's off in this goofy tale of an air-drumming underdog.
Top Critic
October 08, 2009:
Critics Consensus: Retreat From Couples Retreat
This week at the movies brings only one wide release: Couples Retreat, starring Vince Vaughn and Kristen Bell in a comedy about a group of friends in marriage counseling in a... More...
September 13, 2009:
Trailer & Poster review 
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