As the film grapples with the tension between the ideals of parenthood and the realities, the script fumbles some key moments.
Comment
11/12/09
The Boys Are Back (2009)
72
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:81
Fresh:58
Rotten:23
Average Rating:6.4/10
Consensus: Great performances by Clive Owen and The Boys save this melodrama from entering into the sappy territory it might have in less competent hands.
Rated: PG-13 [See Full Rating]
Genre: Comedies
Theatrical Release:Sep 25, 2009 Limited
Box Office: $783,013
Synopsis: Inspired by a true story, THE BOYS ARE BACK is a deeply moving, wryly confessional tale of fatherhood, that intimately evokes both the fragility and wonders of family life. It follows a witty,... [More]
Starring: Clive Owen, Laura Fraser, Nicholas Macanulty, Julia Blake
Director: Scott Hicks
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Reviews for The Boys Are Back
This beautifully etched, deeply moving drama about single fatherhood [is] the best film Adelaide director Scott Hicks has made since Shine -- and the peak of Clive Owen's acting career
11/12/09
Director, Scott Hicks has created a really lovely film. It’s fortunate that the star power of Clive Owen gives the film a core dynamism.
11/11/09
Expert tearjerker with a phenomenal performance from Owen, which will be particularly affecting for parents.
11/11/09
The film plods along unremarkably -- even Joe’s unorthodox rearing techniques lose their surprise factor after a while -- but does remain true to itself right to the bitter(sweet) end.
11/11/09
There's a lot to like about the film. Hicks makes evocative use of the Fleurieu Peninsula's hills and coastline to impart some magic to Joe's attempts to turn life with his sons in to a Boys' Own adventure.
11/09/09
Scott Hicks’s return to the big-screen -- and Australia, courtesy of the film’s South Australian setting -- is a wonderfully moving meditation on life, death and familial bonds that triumphs in its understated approach.
11/08/09
It's the two boys, young George Mackay and younger Nicholas McAnulty who walk away with the acting honours in astonishingly mature and controlled performances
11/05/09
It's about emotional chaos and who better to embody it than Clive Owen as the soulful widower trying to master being an everyday father. It feels like a work of love for Hicks, who injects serenity within the chaos as he conducts a mantle of melancholy
11/05/09
Joe says in a voice-over that "life is a journey to be traveled no matter how bad the road." And The Boys Are Back is a highly satisfying ride.
10/31/09
An affecting blend of warm comedy and high pathos, The Boys Are Back brings an unusual all-male perspective to its otherwise familiar themes of domesticity, death and dysfunction.
10/30/09
Even a corrosive influence like yours truly finds something a bit hinky about the motto 'Just Say Yes.' At least when applied to raising children.
10/27/09
The Boys are bound to seem a rather boring bunch, which makes it hard for Scott Hicks' downbeat heart-tugger to resonate in any meaningful way.
10/23/09
. . . presents some inevitable clichés from the grief-dealing playbook, but also tosses in the occasional change of pace zinger to keep the film from drowning in sorrow.
10/22/09
Parental Content Review
10/15/09
When the film works, it works really well. It certainly doesn't hurt that it features Owen, an actor who's capable of making almost anything watchable.
10/15/09
Might just put you off ever having children, if you don't already.
10/15/09
It has the same understanding of male emotions as a Nick Hornby bestseller and could be that rare warmhearted weepie with an appeal that spans the genders and generations.
10/14/09
If The Boys Are Back takes some emotional shortcuts, it still manages to convey some of the more mystifying aspects of parenthood.
10/14/09
Top CriticOwen, not chasing Julia Roberts or anyone else for a change, is pleasant enough making this 100-minute argument for unconventional parenting.
10/14/09
Latest News for The Boys Are Back
November 09, 2009:
Scott Hicks Talks The Boys Are Back
RT talks to director Scott Hicks as his latest film, 'The Boys Are Back', starring Clive Owen, opens in Australian cinemas. More...
September 24, 2009:
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