Henry Poole is HereMovie Reviews

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So-so
Avg. Critic Score: 44 out of 100 Mixed or average reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
12 Iffy for 12+
Read Common Sense Media review

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

  • 88
    Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert

    Achieves something that is uncommonly difficult. It is a spiritual movie with the power to emotionally touch believers, agnostics and atheists -- in that descending order, I suspect. Read full review

  • 70
    The Hollywood Reporter | Kirk Honeycutt

    The biggest hole in this picture is not so much whether an audience will buy its miracles but whether an audience will care about Henry Poole. Wilson hits the same notes in virtually every scene without any change to his physical rhythms or moods. Read full review

  • 50
    San Francisco Chronicle |

    A strange and thoughtful little movie. Read full review

  • 50
    Entertainment Weekly | Owen Gleiberman

    It's less a tale of religious rebirth than a faith-based Hallmark card. Read full review

  • 50
    Variety | Robert Koehler

    Picture's tendency to lecture on the power of faith and religion and on the demerits of science seems to assume an almost childlike audience that needs to be spoon-fed Pablum. Read full review

  • 50
    USA Today | Claudia Puig

    The film has some amusing moments and can be intriguing when it focuses on the slow transformation of a hopeless, faithless man. Read full review

  • 40
    Los Angeles Times |

    Though not strictly a religious tract, Henry Poole Is Here is undeniably selling spiritual reawakening. If only its makers believed that aesthetically useful adage: God is in the details. Read full review

  • 30
    Washington Post | Philip Kennicott

    A not-quite-funny comedy that devolves into a tedious discussion of miracles and redemption. Read full review

  • 30
    The New York Times | Stephen Holden

    The film's spiritual deck is stacked. In the mawkish tradition of movies like "Simon Birch," "Wide Awake," "August Rush" and "Hearts in Atlantis," Henry Poole Is Here is insufferable hokum that takes itself very, very seriously. Read full review

  • 25
    Boston Globe | Ty Burr

    Manages a fairly rare trick: It's a movie that's both deeply felt and completely phony. Read full review

View more reviews for Henry Poole is Here on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says Iffy for 12+ Faith-themed dramedy has heavy themes, drinking.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that this flawed-but-interesting dramedy takes on a potentially overwhelming topic -- faith -- and manages to make it approachable. It even stirs a bit of hope. That said, it's so geared up for a fight that it misses its chance to be a truly profound discussion movie. In some ways the content is age-appropriate for tweens -- language, violence, and sexual content are all mild -- but in others it's very mature. The main character is a terminally ill man who drinks like a fish and doesn't seem to care about living -- which may feel too tragic, or even scary, for young viewers. Even the religious themes (neighbors are having visions in the main character's back yard) may overwhelm some kids.
  • Families can talk about why Henry feels and acts the way he does in the beginning of the movie. Why does he drink so much? What are the consequences of that behavior? What makes him change -- and why does he resist that change? What messages is the movie sending? Can you think of other movies that deal with faith in a similar manner? What makes this movie different from other Hollywood films?
The good stuff
  • message true0 Positive messages: A man who is clearly an alcoholic seems hell-bent on performing a slow suicide by indulging in destructive behavior. He's also anti-social. But he goes through a change, fueled in part by his kindly new neighbors, and he opens his heart in the end.
What to watch for
  • violence false1 Violence: Hints of a child's troubled childhood; a man on the edge knocks down an entire house by hacking at it with an axe; discussions about a child witnessing horrible fights between her now-divorced parents.
  • sex false1 Sex: A kiss between two adults who are falling in love.
  • language false3 Language: "Jerk" and "damn," and one use of "holy s--t."
  • consumerism false2 Consumerism: Labels and signage for Krispy Kreme doughnuts, Super Bueno Market, liquor, etc.
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false4 Drinking, drugs and smoking: Lots of drinking -- the main character, who is terminally ill and careless about life, drinks vodka and other liquor throughout the day as if it's water.
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.

Henry Poole is Here Movie Ratings + Reviews

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