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06/24/06
Assisted Living (2005)
77 %
Reviews Counted: 44 Fresh: 34 Rotten:10 Average Rating: 6.6/10
Consensus:
An unconventional, heartfelt blend of fact and fiction.
Runtime: 78 mins
Synopsis: In this surprisingly moving film, the growing trend of assisted living facilities for the elderly is examined through a lighthearted drama. The main character is a young man named Todd (Michael Bonsignore) who works as an aide in such a facility. For the most part, he struggles to cope with the... [More]
Genre: Comedies
Starring: Michael Bonsignore, Maggie Riley, Nancy Jo
Director: Elliot Greenebaum
Producer: Archie Borders
Screenwriter: Elliot Greenebaum
Producer: Alex Laskey, Elliot Greenebaum, Alan Oxman
Producer: Archie Borders
Screenwriter: Elliot Greenebaum
Producer: Alex Laskey, Elliot Greenebaum, Alan Oxman
Reviews
Top CriticClick to read the article
08/16/07
Sensitively considers the potential for liberation of the mind from the shackles of the aging body, no matter how deteriorated that physical human essence might be.
03/26/07
There is a certain meditative grace to the cinematography here, but after a while, well, I was just plain bored.
09/01/06
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09/26/05
Top CriticClick to read the article
07/21/05
Top Critic
It's a slight movie, setting a poignant scene but not quite filling out even its running time. Still, I like its wry sense of humor and compassionate heart.
05/15/05
There is a tender, poignant story in here... worthy of a great 20-minute short, not enough to fill writer-director Elliot Greenebaum's rambling mock-documentary.
05/13/05
Has a few enlightening moments but has just as many that are tedious.
05/13/05
Watching the movie is like conducting a conversation with a loved one stricken by Alzheimer's: It's at once moving and maddening.
05/05/05
The whimsy Greenebaum wants to construct can't match the terminal sadness that naturally takes over the film.
04/29/05
Becomes an affecting story about the bond that develops between shiftless Todd and Mrs. Pearlman.
04/29/05
Assisted Living is a remarkably moving look at the prisons in our midst that most of us manage to ignore until we need them.
04/22/05
Maggie Riley, a former circus performer who suffered two strokes and a heart attack during the filming of this movie, is a revelation in this role [Mrs. Pearlman].
04/19/05
A blend of fact and fiction that feels like a breath of fresh air in a medium that too often trivializes the hard realities of age.
04/15/05
Authentically unconventional -- opening in the form of an almost convincing mock documentary -- but it gradually evolves into something more deeply affecting.
04/14/05
Top Critic
It’s a sensitive portrayal of a jolly, caring environment that unwittingly converts its charges into helpless infants.
04/14/05
Viewers who complain about the subject being “depressing” and “uncomfortable” are either missing the point, or simply haven’t been to a nursing home in a really long time.
04/01/05
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