Poster art for "Fireflies in the Garden."

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Avg. Critic Score: 34 out of 100 Generally unfavorable reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
16 Iffy for 16+
Read Common Sense Media review

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

  • 75
    San Francisco Chronicle | Mick LaSalle

    Instead of concealing it, I'll just come out and say that I find it difficult to be enthusiastic about this well-acted and gracefully directed movie, but for reasons that might be called philosophical. Read full review

  • 50
    Entertainment Weekly | Lisa Schwarzbaum

    The resentments acted out at the dining table by the rest of this miserable family - gathered for a graduation celebration that turns into a wake - are so oppressive that Eugene O'Neill might ask, ''Too much?'' Read full review

  • 50
    Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert

    The screenplay shows signs of being inspired by personal memories that still hurt and are still piling up in Michael's mind. Fair enough, but the film doesn't sort this out clearly, and we experience vignettes in search of a story arc. Read full review

  • 40
    The Hollywood Reporter | Kirk Honeycutt

    Dennis Lee comes up empty. Kids, parents, siblings, an aunt and an estranged wife all bicker and yell, but the noise cancels itself out. The movie is one long argument, tiresome and repetitive, that produces more heat than light. Read full review

  • 40
    Boxoffice Magazine | Richard Mowe

    As tales of troubled families go, it may have aspirations to be like "Ordinary People," but it falls way short. Read full review

  • 40
    Los Angeles Times | Betsy Sharkey

    There's a strange sort of diffidence that seems to inhabit Dafoe and Roberts' performances, and the disconnect between the two Janes is simply insurmountable. Read full review

  • 40
    Variety |

    Clumsy melodrama, which looks and sounds no better than an average made-for-cabler. Read full review

  • 40
    The New York Times | Manohla Dargis

    Mr. Lee gathers together a lifetime of hurt without conveying that there's something personal at stake. Read full review

  • 25
    Slant Magazine | Diego Costa

    The actors are left to go through the motions of a sterile script that director Dennis Lee tries to bring to life not through, for example, Watson's brilliant capacity for facial nuance, but through canned artifice. Read full review

  • 20
    Village Voice | Nick Schager

    Despite an A-list roster, the performances are universally one-note, a fact largely attributable to a script overflowing with blunt dialogue and heavy-handed symbolism. Read full review

View more reviews for Fireflies in the Garden on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says Iffy for 16+ Uneven drama about unhappy family, including tragedy.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that Fireflies in the Garden is a drama starring Julia Roberts and Ryan Reynolds about the relationship between a domineering father, the son who grows up to despise him, and the mother who keeps the family together until an unexpected tragedy throws the entire household into despair. The father rules the household through his anger and his often-cruel punishments, creating a portrait of a deeply unpleasant place to grow up. There are several intense arguments and a good bit of swearing (including "f--k" and "s--t"), as well as some scenes that seem to come close to child abuse. One off-screen sex scene includes overheard noises.
  • Families can talk about the relationship between the father and son. Why is the father so controlling? Why does he treat his son with such cruelty? What are the effects of growing up around violence and abuse?
  • What message do you think the filmmaker is communicating through Fireflies in the Garden? Are his methods effective?
The good stuff
  • message true0 Positive messages: Only the mother in this family shows much sign of caring for the people in the clan, and her efforts don't really engender much affection between the others. There's plenty of hostility and even more suppressed anger, and the few scenes that show tenderness and caring serve to soothe people after bitter arguments.
  • rolemodels true1 Positive role models: The mother is selfless and caring, but even she has hidden secrets. Everyone else lets their anger control them.
What to watch for
  • violence false2 Violence: Several very intense arguments, including one that escalates into violence when a tween boy is so enraged that he attacks his father. Some scenes feature a father who metes out punishments so harsh they border on cruel. Much of the movie's action is precipitated by a terrible car accident.
  • sex false2 Sex: One scene features two former lovers who connect during an emotional party. The sounds of their coupling are heard from the next room.
  • language false4 Language: Relatively frequent swearing includes "s--t," "a--hole," "hell," "Jesus Christ" (as an exclamation), and multiple uses of "f--k."
  • consumerism false1 Consumerism: One character prefers expensive German cars, including a Mercedes Benz and a Porsche.
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false2 Drinking, drugs and smoking: One character smokes cigarettes in several scenes, and some people drink wine at social events.
An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology. © Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.

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