Marianne Palka's comedy, which she wrote and stars in, lacks the script, acting and the laughs to rise in the marketplace above similar Sundance-style fare, despite the sado-masochistic streak.
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10/18/08
Good Dick (2008)
49
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:37
Fresh:18
Rotten:19
Average Rating:5.2/10
Consensus: Marianna Palka's quirky indie debut centred on two dysfunctional loners is hit and miss, but has enough originality to see it through.
Theatrical Release:03-10-2008
Synopsis: Good Dick is a truly original love story. It is also quite funny and a joy to watch. When Anna slinks into an independent video store to check out the latest in erotic offerings, she catches the... [More]
Starring: Jason Ritter, Marianna Palka, Eric Edelstein, Martin Starr
Director: Marianna Palka
Reviews for Good Dick
The characters are sharp and their dilemmas feel honest, even if we never get all the information we crave.
10/03/08
Things happen eventually but we never really know what ails her or why the boy is so taken by her mute presence.
10/03/08
Marianna Palka's debut feature is a quirky, slight, self-absorbed study of romantic loners reaching out to one another in low-rent Los Angeles.
10/03/08
In spite of a title, and much dialogue, likely to send Aunt Edna into convulsions, Good Dick is the week’s best film.
10/03/08
The Kevin Smith-esque dude banter might place Dick in a US indie tradition, but there’s also an honesty to the script and performances that’s genuinely original and touching.
10/03/08
Despite an ambitiously dark premise, the writing isn't sharp enough despite a leavening courtesy of sub-High Fidelity-style joshing among the video geeks.
10/03/08
Widely liked, but it passed me by.
10/03/08
Top CriticThe film wears its arthouse aspirations all over the shelves. But the romance between Jason Ritter’s shy Romeo and Palka’s sullen loner is a morbidly peculiar stretch.
10/03/08
Top CriticA well-meaning comedy that undoes all its good work in the final act, Good Dick would've been better served with further development in the Sundance Lab. That said, Jason Ritter delivers a breakthrough performance that saves the film.
10/03/08
Top CriticGood Dick’ is enjoyable as a cute, playful indie – it’s just not as perceptive about female psychology as it sets out to be.
10/03/08
Top CriticThis entertains enough to get by, marking Palka and Ritter as talents to watch.
10/03/08
Top CriticDelightfully offbeat indie romcom with impressive direction, strong performances and a superbly written script that's by turns creepy, funny, weird and ultimately moving.
10/02/08
Palka has created two very troubled, comic people who find links through kinks. Takes all sorts.
10/02/08
...a lot more poignant than most of Hollywood's big-budget, star-studded takes on the subject.
09/07/09
One of the weakest competition entries at Sundance Fest this year, this pseudo romantic-erotic feature promises more than it can deliver, and after a cute beginning falls apart.
01/05/09
Surely some of the young woman's porn videos would make better viewing.
11/14/08
In another movie, the boy who pursues this girl would be a serial killer.
11/14/08
All of the most annoying elements of independent cinema are on full display in Good Dick, a painfully awkward attempt at...well, I'm not sure what exactly.
10/18/08
Alternately compelling and dramatically limp, the film scores points for exploring unfamiliar territory but lacks the emotional depth to make some very strange behavior believable.
10/18/08
Top CriticLatest News for Good Dick
October 12, 2008:
Trailer & Poster review 
More...
October 09, 2008:
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