CyrusMovie Reviews

Poster art for "Cyrus."

Gifts + Promos

Fandango Gift Card

Give the gift of movies with Fandango Bucks Gift Certificates! Design your own gift card, or choose from our collection.

Avengers Gift Cards

Superhero fans! Don’t miss out on these Limited Edition Avengers gift cards!

Go
Avg. Critic Score: 74 out of 100 Generally favorable reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
15 Iffy for 15+
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 91
    Entertainment Weekly | Owen Gleiberman

    Cyrus cues us to expect it to go over the top, but the film never does. That may be its neatest trick Read full review

  • 90
    Los Angeles Times | Kenneth Turan

    Amuses and unnerves in equal measure. A comedy of discomfort that walks a wonderful line between reality-based emotional honesty and engaging humor, it demonstrates the good things that happen when quirky independent style combines with top-of-the-line acting skill. Read full review

  • 88
    Rolling Stone | Peter Travers

    Cyrus, the summer's best, most original and crazily inventive comedy, is potently funny and painfully real. Read full review

  • 88
    Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert

    Here is a film that uses very good actors and gives them a lot of improvisational freedom to talk their way into, around and out of social discomfort. And it's not snarky. It doesn't mock these characters. It understand they have their difficulties and hopes they find a way to work things out. Read full review

  • 88
    USA Today | Claudia Puig

    Middle-aged romance can be a dicey prospect. And it gets more complicated when children are in the picture. But it gets more complex still if the "child" is actually 21, and creepily meddlesome. Read full review

  • 75
    San Francisco Chronicle | Mick LaSalle

    Don't be fooled by the casual style. There is nothing casual about these emotions, or about the talent of these two filmmakers. Read full review

  • 75
    Washington Post | Ann Hornaday

    Even at its most troubling, Cyrus is powered by a deep vein of humanism, one that offers hope to even the weirdest among us. Read full review

  • 70
    Variety |

    Think of Cyrus as the Duplasses for the masses, as the keenly observant sibs upgrade their scrappy, relationship-based formula to work with movie stars and a Fox Searchlight-size budget without sacrificing the raw, naturalistic feel of their first two features, "The Puffy Chair" and "Baghead." Read full review

  • 60
    The Hollywood Reporter |

    Insightful but ultimately ponderous entertainment. Read full review

  • 60
    The New York Times | Manohla Dargis

    Cyrus is more finely tuned than their earlier movies ("The Puffy Chair," "Baghead"), but it shares a similar, almost aggressive lack of ambition. John doesn't work hard and neither do the Duplasses, who don't want their audiences to break a sweat either. That's too bad, because Cyrus is more interesting and fun when you're recoiling at the effrontery of its comedy and not its conventionality. Read full review


Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says Iffy for 15+ Indie romcom swaps raunchiness for quirkiness.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that this indie comedy about a romance that’s hampered by an adult child’s fixation with his mother stars Jonah Hill of teen favorites like Superbad and Knocked Up. While this movie isn't as raunchy or over-the-top as those comedies, the subject matter may still be too mature for young teens, and the Oedipus complex references confusing. Expect some swearing (including "s--t" and "f--k") and drinking and a few awkward sexual situations (including a scene that implies masturbation), though little nudity.
  • Families can talk about Molly’s relationship with Cyrus. Does it seem realistic? How do you think it got to the point it is in the movie?
  • Who do you think this movie is intended to appeal to? Hill's teenage fans? People who enjoy indie comedies?
The good stuff
  • message true0 Positive messages: The movie suggests that it's possible to over-coddle a child to the point where his fixation with his mother can go into overdrive, complicating his parents’ life. But it also promotes the idea that building trust can help overcome problems.
  • rolemodels true0 Positive role models: Conscientious and kind, Molly loves her son, but she begins to worry that she may have been too overprotective and indulgent; she starts thinking about parent-child boundaries late in the game. John doesn't like game-playing in romantic relationships, and he and his ex-wife have what may be the most amicable post-divorce friendship in cinema.
What to watch for
  • violence false1 Violence: Two guys tussle at a wedding and yell threats, insults, and painful things at each other.
  • sex false2 Sex: The movie begins with a woman barging in on a man who, from the looks of it, is pleasuring himself to Internet porn. Viewers don’t see what he’s watching, but his behind is visible from the back and his underwear low on his hips as he reclines in bed with a laptop in front of him. Also, a couple kisses and rolls around on a sofa and in bed.
  • language false4 Language: Many uses of “f--k," plus "s--t," "hell,"  “a--hole," and "oh my God."
  • consumerism false2 Consumerism: Mentions of Red Bull and Shrek; logos for Trojan condoms, Chevrolet, Apple, and Adidas.
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false2 Drinking, drugs and smoking: A man fills up on “liquid courage” -- beer, Red Bull and vodka -- at a party. Some social drinking at restaurants.

Looking for more reviews? Movies.com Critics Say:

Dave White

4.0

Dave White Profile See Dave White's Profile

The good son. Read full review See Dave White's on MOVIENAME on Movies.com

Jen Yamato

2.5

Jen Yamato Profile See Jen Yamato's Profile

Man-child vs. man-child. Read full review See Dave Jen Yamato's on MOVIENAME on Movies.com

Cyrus Featured Trailers + Video Clips

Facebook Movie Fans

Exclusive Features

Cyrus 100 Days Fandango Review Man-Boy Chemistry John C. Reilly and Jonah Hill match wits in this indie comedy. Watch our exclusive Jonah Hill Sundance 2010 interview! Jonah Hill talks about working with John C. Reilly and Marisa Tomei! Exclusive director Mark Duplass Sundance 2010 interview!