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Movies / On DVD / Imaginary Heroes
Imaginary Heroes

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Imaginary Heroes (2004)

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Reviews Counted:101

Fresh:35

Rotten:66

Average Rating:5.2/10

Consensus: Imaginary Heroes is a muddled, melodramatic and unconvincing drama.

Runtime: 1 hr 57 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: This realistic family film starring Sigourney Weaver and Emile Hirsch as a loving mother and son asks some deep questions about mortality, the risks of depression, and staying together verses... This realistic family film starring Sigourney Weaver and Emile Hirsch as a loving mother and son asks some deep questions about mortality, the risks of depression, and staying together verses splitting up. Living in a beautiful house in a manicured suburban neighborhood, the Travis family seems flawless at first glance. That is, until the handsome eldest son (Kip Pardue), a star swimmer, commits suicide, leaving the family in pieces. The father (Jeff Daniels), rejects the other members of the family, becoming distant and aloof. The college-student daughter (Michelle Williams), rarely visits home any more. The mother (Weaver), resorts to petty quibbles with her next-door neighbor (Deirdre O'Connell), and develops a minor--but highly amusing--marijuana habit. And the youngest son, Tim (Hirsch)--who is the protagonist and the real victim in the story--searches for meaning, identity, and solace from the chaos that surrounds him. Tim's best friend Kyle (Ryan Donowho) experiments with drugs and sex, providing for some understated and poignant coming-of-age situations. But for the most part, it is the chemistry between expert actors Weaver and Hirsch that carries the film, making IMAGINARY HEROES a lovely, sensitive meditation on the mid-life family crisis. [More]

Starring: Sigourney Weaver, Emile Hirsch, Jeff Daniels, Deirdre O'Connell

Starring: Sigourney Weaver, Emile Hirsch, Jeff Daniels, Deirdre O'Connell, Kip Pardue, Ryan Donowho, Michelle Williams, Suzanne Santo

Director: Daniel Harris

Director: Daniel Harris
Screenwriter: Daniel Harris
Producer: Illana Diamant, Gina Resnick, Art Linson, Denise Shaw
Studio: Sony Pictures Classics

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Reviews for Imaginary Heroes

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1 - 20 (sorted by source; UK critics are listed first)
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N/R

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Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
07/05/05
BBC
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N/R

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Full Review Source: Daily Mirror [UK] | comment Comment
07/05/05
David Edwards
David Edwards
Daily Mirror [UK]

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
07/05/05
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Independent | comment Comment
12/06/05
Independent
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Especially forceful performances make it well worth watching, even if it becomes a bit too much at times.

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
06/04/05
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It’s unusual and faintly disturbing to see Jeff Daniels play such an unlikeable character.

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
07/05/05
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

Stumbling between failed comedy and stilted drama, Imaginary Heroes never finds a convincing tone.

Full Review Source: Advocate (Baton Rouge, LA) | comment Comment
04/01/05
John Wirt
John Wirt
Advocate (Baton Rouge, LA)

It's not clear why this same movie is made over and over. The concept isn't exactly inspirational box office gold.

Full Review Source: Arizona Daily Star | comment Comment
03/09/05
Phil Villarreal
Phil Villarreal
Arizona Daily Star
N/R

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Full Review Source: Arizona Republic | comment Comment
04/01/05
Arizona Republic
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...chisel away the superfluous, and there is a very fine movie here.

Full Review Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette | comment Comment
03/18/05
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution | comment Comment
03/26/05
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Sigourney Weaver is magnificent in Imaginary Heroes ...

Full Review Source: Atlantic City Weekly | comment Comment
05/13/05
Lori Hoffman
Lori Hoffman
Atlantic City Weekly

Has a third act that consists almost entirely of skeletons tumbling out of the closet, but Weaver's and Hirsch's flawless performances elevate the film above and beyond the ranks of 'Ordinary People' pastiches, and in the end it stands on its own merits.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
03/13/05
Marc Savlov
Marc Savlov
Austin Chronicle
N/R

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Full Review Source: AV Club | comment Comment
09/26/05
AV Club
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Harris directs at a funereal pace that snuffs out his script's own wit, and only Weaver keeps the bitter laughs coming.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
02/20/05
Ty Burr
Ty Burr
Boston Globe
N/R

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Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
02/19/05
Boston Phoenix
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Harris' dreary, pill-popping suburbia is only a few blocks from Peyton Place.

Full Review Source: Boulder Weekly | comment Comment
03/08/05
Thomas Delapa
Thomas Delapa
Boulder Weekly

A family drama so overwrought that it puts you in a state of profound disbelief.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
11/28/04
Kevin Courrier
Kevin Courrier
Boxoffice Magazine

With that much baggage, Tim doesn’t need a loving family. He needs a Smarte Carte.

Full Review Source: Capital Times (Madison, WI) | comment Comment
04/07/05
Rob Thomas
Rob Thomas
Capital Times (Madison, WI)
 
 
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