54
Metascore
16 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 80Washington PostDesson ThomsonWashington PostDesson ThomsonSubtly riotous.
- 75Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertA genuine surprise: A movie as funny as the "SNL" stuff, and yet with convincing characters, a compelling story and a sunny, sweet sincerity shining down on the humor.
- 70Chicago ReaderJonathan RosenbaumChicago ReaderJonathan RosenbaumEven if you find Franken hard to bear, as I do, the movie's take on how he functions in the world is both authoritative and compelling, and the movie steadily grows in stature.
- 60The New York TimesJanet MaslinThe New York TimesJanet MaslinLittle more than a set of intermittently funny skits strung together by a sketchy nonplot about Stuart's relatives. As directed by Harold Ramis, it's seldom better than just amiable.
- 60TV Guide MagazineTV Guide MagazineOften funny, darker than you'd expect, and firmly grounded in Franken's extensive experience of the 12-Step worldview.
- 58Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanEntertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanStuart Saves His Family is a hit-or-miss satire in which Stuart, for too many scenes, comes off simply as a goofy neurotic butterball.
- 50Los Angeles TimesPeter RainerLos Angeles TimesPeter RainerAl Franken is good enough, he's certainly smart enough. So, doggone it, why is "Stuart Saves His Family" so mediocre?
- 50San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleSan Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleThe picture meanders and goes back in time for needless flashbacks, and in the end the comedy mutes whatever punch the dramatic elements might have had.
- 40Washington PostHal HinsonWashington PostHal HinsonThere's a genuinely tragic side to Stuart's character, and for the movie to work the filmmakers have to keep it in balance with the comedy so that the pathos of his life doesn't kill all the laughs. But Ramis can't keep the movie's tone under control, and, as a result, it teeters precariously between farce and wake.
- 30VarietyJoe LeydonVarietyJoe LeydonThis feeble comedy isn't the worst pic ever to be spun off from a "Saturday Night Live" sketch --"It's Pat!" maintains a firm grip on that dubious distinction -- but it is woefully lacking in the humor and charm needed to attract mainstream audiences.