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 / Diminished Capacity
Diminished Capacity

Rate this Movie Help Icon

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

Diminished Capacity (2008)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
31 %
Tomatometer
Template ImageTemplate Image

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted:29

Fresh:9

Rotten:20

Average Rating:5.2/10

Consensus: This low-key comedy about memory loss offers mild pleasures but is too bland to fully resonate.

Rated: 15

Runtime: 1 hr 32 mins

Genre: Comedies

Theatrical Release:20-03-2009

Synopsis: After a concussion leaves him unfocused, short on short-term memory, and demoted from the political pages to the comics, Cooper (Matthew Broderick), a Chicago newspaper editor, travels home to... After a concussion leaves him unfocused, short on short-term memory, and demoted from the political pages to the comics, Cooper (Matthew Broderick), a Chicago newspaper editor, travels home to Missouri to visit his aging Uncle Rollie (Alan Alda). On the verge of losing his home and exhibiting signs of senility, Rollie spends his time stubbornly refusing to pay bills, compulsively drying socks, and sitting by the lake editing "fish poetry" (think typewriter keys tied to baited fishing lines). But when he shows Cooper a near-mint-condition Frank "Wildfire" Schulte baseball card, the two muddled men—along with Cooper's high school sweetheart, Charlotte ( Virginia Madsen)--drive back to Chicago hoping to sell the antique card at a memorabilia convention. Director Terry Kinney and screenwriter Sherwood Kiraly (who also wrote the novel) have concocted a delightful, bittersweet comedy about people coming together and memory falling apart. Full of wit and observant character humor, Diminished Capacity is cleverly set in the world of baseball cards and commercialized nostalgia that allows us to explore the value of our memories (which may not be what's quoted in the price list) and who we are without them. It's with a hint of melancholy that we accept that our memories are fleeting, or as Rollie's fish point out in one of their more-accessible poems, "Time is the guest of the north." They may be on to something. -- © Sundance Film Festival [More]

Starring: Matthew Broderick, Virginia Madsen, Alan Alda, Louis C.K.

Starring: Matthew Broderick, Virginia Madsen, Alan Alda, Louis C.K., Jimmy Bennett, Jim True-Frost, Dylan Baker, Bobby Cannavale, Jeff Perry, Lois Smith, Tom Aldredge

Director: Terry Kinney

Director: Terry Kinney
Screenwriter: Sherwood Kiraly
Producer: Celine Rattray, Galt Niederhoffer, Daniela Taplin Lundberg, Tim Evans
Composer: Robert Burger
Studio: IFC Films

[See More Credits]

  • Trailers
  • Pictures
  • Trailer
    >
1 of 1

See More Movie Trailers & Pictures

Reviews for Diminished Capacity

  • 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: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
03/19/09
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

It's quite easy: either go get a sedative and calm down, dear. Or see this gentle and frankly boring-as-hell movie.

Full Review Source: Teletext | comment Comment
03/19/09
Victor Olliver
Victor Olliver
Teletext

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
03/19/09
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

A slog through determined wackiness, it's apt to leave audiences cold.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
07/07/08
Amy Nicholson
Amy Nicholson
Boxoffice Magazine

The problem with this film ... is that it features too many other sad sack characters who ... contribute to an excess of sad-sackness.

Full Review Source: Cinematical | comment Comment
07/03/08
Christopher Campbell
Christopher Campbell
Cinematical

It has moments of sweetness, but not enough poignancy or wit to turn it into the endearing art-house comedy that it aspires to be.

Full Review Source: USA Today | comment Comment
07/03/08
Claudia Puig
Claudia Puig
USA Today

Great, just what we needed: another rote exercise in indie-feely humanism.

Full Review Source: Time Out New York | comment Comment
07/02/08
David Fear
David Fear
Time Out New York

A mediocre effort that never really goes anywhere and never really pays off, trying too hard to be funny without delivering on the premises introduced over the course of the movie.

Full Review Source: ComingSoon.net | comment Comment
07/01/08
Edward Douglas
Edward Douglas
ComingSoon.net

The milieu is interesting but there's too much acting (particularly by Alda) in this quasi-witty, semi-melancholy road comedy, perhaps a result of helmer Kinney's theatrical background and lack of directorial skills.

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
06/27/08
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

I wonder if all this worked better as a book. It begins modestly interesting, but becomes merely agitated.

Full Review Source: Christianity Today | comment Comment
07/10/08
Frederica Mathewes-Green
Frederica Mathewes-Green
Christianity Today

A movie about memory loss shouldn't be so forgettable.

Full Review Source: Metromix.com | comment Comment
07/02/08
Geoff Berkshire
Geoff Berkshire
Metromix.com

Sherwood Kiraly's slight script only makes this embarrassment of riches seem more embarrassing.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
12/08/08
J. R. Jones
J. R. Jones
Chicago Reader

Bland indie comedy isn't very memorable.

Full Review Source: Common Sense Media | comment Comment
07/02/08
James Rocchi
James Rocchi
Common Sense Media

A pleasant enough diversion, but DC will be bettered watched from the horizontal position of a couch, one to which the film seems all too eager to send you.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
01/28/08
John Anderson
John Anderson
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Suffering from a diminished level of interest, do we know how to live up to a title, or what?

Full Review Source: Cinema Signals | comment Comment
07/15/08
Jules Brenner
Jules Brenner
Cinema Signals

Plays like diminished comedy.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment Comment
01/23/08
Kirk Honeycutt
Kirk Honeycutt
Hollywood Reporter
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The actors look as if they’re having a reasonably fine time, but there’s no sense of commitment here, no sense that this was a movie that absolutely, passionately had to be made.

comment Comment
07/04/08
Manohla Dargis
Manohla Dargis
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Striving for low-key character comedy, Diminished Capacity ends up diminishing its returns.

Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | comment Comment
07/03/08
Michael Phillips
Michael Phillips
Chicago Tribune

It’s the kind of lite movie you go and see with your mom, and she’ll say she liked it -- but then a year later, you’re both trying to remember what it was even about.

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
07/01/08
Nick Pinkerton
Nick Pinkerton
Village Voice

Pure, unadulterated mediocrity.

Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | comment Comment
07/01/08
Nick Schager
Nick Schager
Slant Magazine
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by rotten rating; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
all

Latest News for Diminished Capacity

July 06, 2008: Trailer & Poster review Opens in new window
More...

July 01, 2008: Critics Consensus: Hancock Isn't Signature Smith
This week at the movies, we've got moody superheroes (Hancock, starring Will Smith and Charlize Theron), and cub reporters (Kit Kittredge: An American Girl, starring Abigail... More...

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
  
  • No Hobbit Until 2012? Source: The Wrap
13
  • Don't Hold Your Breath for Hancock 2 Source: HitFix
26
  • Peter Berg Talks Battleship Source: CHUD
1
  • Summit Ponders Twilight Finale Source: Variety
138
  • First Look at Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Source: USA Today
50
  • 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
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Ban Them All! 10 Infamously Controversial Movies
99
  • 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
37
  • Total Recall: Natalie Portman's Best Movies
34
  • Weekly Ketchup: Zombieland 2 in 3D?
28
  • Five Favorite Films with Jesse Ventura
26
  • RT on DVD & Blu-Ray: Terminator Salvation and a Smithsonian Battle
20
  • 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

  • Diminished Capacity at Rotten Tomatoes
  • Diminished Capacity 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.