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 / Trucker
Trucker

Rate this Movie Help Icon

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

Trucker (2009)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
56 %
Tomatometer
Template ImageTemplate Image

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted:32

Fresh:18

Rotten:14

Average Rating:5.7/10

Consensus: Excellent performances by Michelle Monaghan and Nathan Fillion and keenly-observed details of small town life elevate this otherwise predictable and inconsistent melodrama.

Runtime: 1 hr 33 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: Diane Ford (Michelle Monaghan), a vivacious and successful independent truck driver, leads a carefree life of long-haul trucking, one night stands and all-night drinking with Runner (Nathan... Diane Ford (Michelle Monaghan), a vivacious and successful independent truck driver, leads a carefree life of long-haul trucking, one night stands and all-night drinking with Runner (Nathan Fillion, Serenity, Waitress, "Castle") until the evening her estranged 11-year-old son, Peter (Jimmy Bennett, young James Kirk in Star Trek) is unexpectedly dropped at her door.

Peter hasn't seen his mother since he was a baby and wants to live with Diane as little as she wants him, but they are stuck with each other - at least for now, while his father Len (Benjamin Bratt) is in the hospital.

Burdened with this new responsibility and seeing the life of freedom she's fought for now jeopardized, Diane steps reluctantly into her past and looks sidelong at an uncharted future that is not as simple or straightforward as she had once believed possible. --© Monterey Media [More]

Starring: Michelle Monaghan, Nathan Fillion, Benjamin Bratt, Joey Lauren Adams

Starring: Michelle Monaghan, Nathan Fillion, Benjamin Bratt, Joey Lauren Adams, Jimmy Bennett

Director: James Mottern

Director: James Mottern
Screenwriter: James Mottern
Producer: Celine Rattray, Galt Niederhoffer, Daniela Taplin Lundberg, Scott Hanson
Composer: Mychael Danna
Studio: Monterrey Media

[See More Credits]

  • Trailers
  • Pictures
1 - 2 of 2

See More Movie Trailers & Pictures

Reviews for Trucker

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Even with some fine acting, this film can be a long tiring ride.

Full Review Source: Screen International | comment Comment
10/18/08
David D'Arcy
David D'Arcy
Screen International

Unremarkable at best, remarkably bad at worst.

Full Review Source: Goatdog's Movies | comment Comment
12/01/09
Michael W. Phillips, Jr.
Michael W. Phillips, Jr.
Goatdog's Movies

The overall story serves as a metaphor for American life, where too many people spend a lot of time keeping busy without ever really enjoying the moment and without ever being truly alive.

Full Review Source: Laramie Movie Scope | comment Comment
11/24/09
Robert Roten
Robert Roten
Laramie Movie Scope

Monaghan demonstrates an untapped level of talent and skill in Trucker, tackling the difficult role of a woman who refuses to behave as societal norms dictate and has paid the price with loneliness and alienation.

Full Review Source: Miami Herald | comment Comment
10/29/09
Rene Rodriguez
Rene Rodriguez
Miami Herald

Trucker is a knockout.

Full Review Source: Dallas Morning News | comment Comment
10/23/09
Cary Darling
Cary Darling
Dallas Morning News

The whole thing plays with wobbly craft that, finally, creates a deep patina of suspicion and dullness.

Full Review Source: Oregonian | comment Comment
10/23/09
Shawn Levy
Shawn Levy
Oregonian

The only thing to take away from this bumpy ride is the smooth performance by Monaghan.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
10/23/09
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Monaghan's good, despite being too pretty, and the film, with a melodramatic storyline that seems perfect for a Hallmark TV movie, is good, too.

Full Review Source: About.com | comment Comment
10/21/09
Marcy Dermansky
Marcy Dermansky
About.com

Features spectacular performances but these excellent actors are required to do too much heavy lifting with a script that plays out too predictably to be effective.

Full Review Source: Movie Retriever | comment Comment
10/21/09
Brian Tallerico
Brian Tallerico
Movie Retriever

You know exactly what is going to happen and you don’t really care.

Full Review Source: At the Movies | comment Comment
10/19/09
A.O. Scott
A.O. Scott
At the Movies

Most of Trucker comes off like a sincere but totally artificial slice of life.

Full Review Source: At the Movies | comment Comment
10/19/09
Michael Phillips
Michael Phillips
At the Movies

There are so many wonderfully unconventional things to like about this tiny independent film, Monaghan's earthy and uncompromising performance chief among them, its depth surprising you at every turn.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
10/16/09
Betsy Sharkey
Betsy Sharkey
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Monaghan, so good in Gone Baby Gone, mopes self-consciously through the role of Diane, a loner who finds her heart when she's thrown together with her estranged 11-year-old son (Jimmy Bennett), whom she takes on the road. Yes, it's one of those movies.

Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | comment Comment
10/14/09
Owen Gleiberman
Owen Gleiberman
Entertainment Weekly

You want to like Trucker. You really do. But writer-director James Mottern makes it awfully hard with his washed-out, predictable aesthetic.

Full Review Source: New York Press | comment Comment
10/14/09
Mark Peikert
Mark Peikert
New York Press

A nostalgic rehashing of the days when movies didn't need to telegraph every last detail.

Full Review Source: Critic's Notebook | comment Comment
10/09/09
Robert Levin
Robert Levin
Critic's Notebook

With the sad state of the indie business Trucker may make a fast exit to Netflix, but thanks to Michelle Monaghan it's a trip worth taking wherever you may find it.

Full Review Source: Back Stage | comment Comment
10/09/09
Pete Hammond
Pete Hammond
Back Stage

Monaghan gets how people with honky-tonk souls move in mysterious ways.

Full Review Source: New York Daily News | comment Comment
10/09/09
Joe Neumaier
Joe Neumaier
New York Daily News

Michelle Monaghan delivers the goods.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment Comment
10/09/09
Stephen Farber
Stephen Farber
Hollywood Reporter
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The vehicle (if you will pardon the pun) doesn’t quite know what to do with her character. And so the movie, the first feature written and directed by James Mottern, turns into a conventional mother-child reunion drama.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
10/09/09
Stephen Holden
Stephen Holden
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Monaghan conveys the character's boxed-in emotional conflicts through a flickering wariness and constricted body language. Diane seems hopeless, but the actress keeps us holding onto hope for her anyway.

Full Review Source: MTV | comment Comment
10/09/09
Kurt Loder
Kurt Loder
MTV
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
all

Latest News for Trucker

September 13, 2009: Trailer & Poster review Opens in new window
More...

See All

More DVDs

Top Rentals
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
36% 36% Angels & Demons
25% 25% Four Christmases
68% 68% Funny People
95% 95% Star Trek
14% 14% The Ugly Truth

More Rentals…

New On DVD This Week
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
83% 83% Harry Potter and the H…
67% 67% Public Enemies
75% 75% Julie & Julia
95% 95% The Cove
85% 85% World's Greatest Dad

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
  
  • Peter Jackson Talks Hobbit, LotR Blu-ray Source: Collider.com
6
  • Woman Jailed for Filming New Moon Screening Source: Chicago Sun-Times
5
  • McG Has Plans for Fifth and Sixth Terminator Movies Source: Gizmodo
24
  • Spielberg Hops Away from Harvey Source: Variety
22
  • Tarantino Could Have Directed Green Lantern Source: MTV
24
  • Will Duvall be Gilliam's Don Quixote? Source: Collider.com
26
  • No Hobbit Until 2012? Source: The Wrap
22
  • Don't Hold Your Breath for Hancock 2 Source: HitFix
42
  • Peter Berg Talks Battleship Source: CHUD
2
  • Summit Ponders Twilight Finale Source: Variety
162
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Total Recall: Natalie Portman's Best Movies
79
  • Five Favorite Films with Jason Reitman
55
  • Critics Consensus: Everybody's Fine Is Just OK
50
  • 10 Horrifically Profitable Films
46
  • Sundance 2010: RT's 10 Most Anticipated Movies
41
  • Five Favorite Films with Jesse Ventura
40
  • Weekly Ketchup: Tron Team to Remake The Black Hole
37
  • Awards Tour: National Board of Review Winners List!
28
  • Friday Harvest: Iron Man 2, Harry Potter, and more!
24
  • RT on DVD & Blu-Ray: Terminator Salvation and a Smithsonian Battle
22
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • Director Ruben Fleischer Talks Zombieland
2
  • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
17
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
12
  • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary
23
  • 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
30
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • Trucker at Rotten Tomatoes

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.