Being Charlie
Paladin | Release Date: May 6, 2016 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
47
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 18 Critic Reviews
Positive:
6
Mixed:
10
Negative:
2
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
ObserverRex ReedMay 5, 2016
The result is a film so personal you watch transfixed, caught up in a life that is constantly enthralling, with a universal appeal that extends beyond the exclusive Hills of Beverly. Read full review
75
The Film StageJared MobarakMay 5, 2016
Despite Reiner saying this isn’t a film about addiction, it ultimately proves to be just that. And that’s okay because the events Charlie goes through are what make the film captivating and resonate. Read full review
75
IndieWireDavid EhrlichMay 2, 2016
Being Charlie may not be the definitive cinematic portrait of addiction, but it's the first Rob Reiner movie since "The American President" to palpably convey what it feels like to be anybody. Read full review
70
VarietyAndrew BarkerMay 4, 2016
Being Charlie is far from a home run, but it’s the kind of solidly struck single after a string of strikeouts that can be just the thing to help set a veteran back on track. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubMike D'AngeloMay 4, 2016
Being Charlie is Rob Reiner’s best film in at least two decades — admittedly a low bar to clear, given the competition (which includes such forgotten piffle as Alex & Emma and Rumor Has It…), but even a modest Meathead comeback is more than welcome. Read full review
63
RogerEbert.comSusan WloszczynaMay 6, 2016
Proves to be a kind of career rehab for Dad. Read full review
60
Arizona RepublicKerry LengelMay 12, 2016
The narrative feels undercooked, its life lessons just a bit too glib. Read full review
50
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanMay 12, 2016
There’s something admirable about the fact that Being Charlie exists at all. It’s a testament to Nick Reiner’s survival. That doesn’t mean it’s a great movie. Read full review
50
New York PostSara StewartMay 5, 2016
Good intentions aside, it fails to resonate, though there is a certain voyeuristic intrigue to attempting to figure out how much of this toxic stuff is drawn from the real Reiners. Read full review
50
Rolling StonePeter TraversMay 5, 2016
Many a road to movie hell is paved with good intentions. To that list of lost causes add Being Charlie, a well-meaning study of addiction that hits too many banal beats to snap us to attention. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterLeslie FelperinMay 4, 2016
Some viewers might find that very cognitive dissonance interesting in itself, but many others may struggle to connect with a story that's essentially about an assortment of extremely entitled, self-absorbed people who ultimately have little new to say about addiction, families or the process of recovery. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleKimberley JonesMay 11, 2016
But being Charlie – what’s going on inside this angry kid’s head, what made him turn to drugs, and finally turn away – that is more elusive. And that is the film’s great disappointment: that something so clearly conceived in earnestness and from real-life, first-person experience ends up feeling, well, kinda fake. Read full review
40
Los Angeles TimesKatie WalshMay 5, 2016
The film is well-made — the direction is strong, the cinematography by Barry Markowitz compelling and the script by two first-time writers is confident. The biggest problem with the film is Charlie himself. Read full review
40
The New York TimesStephen HoldenMay 5, 2016
The movie’s refusal to abandon commercial formulas and examine its characters’ inner lives suggests that the director’s years inside the Hollywood bubble may have prevented him from recognizing the degree to which independent films and television are already overrun with deeper, more sensitive explorations of addiction and recovery. Read full review
40
Village VoiceApril WolfeMay 5, 2016
If Charlie were just unlikable, it all might be palatable and even fun. But his behavior draws more of an eye-roll than a laugh or a snarl, despite Robinson's confident, believable performance. Read full review
40
New York Daily NewsStephen Whitty May 4, 2016
To be fair, Being Charlie has some action and a few good jokes. It's not completely unwatchable. It's certainly better than Reiner's last few awful movies. Read full review
38
Movie NationRoger MooreMay 11, 2016
It takes nothing away from the awful thing people who experience this go through in saying that movies about it all too often are all tropes that render it trite. Read full review
25
Slant MagazineElise NakhnikianMay 2, 2016
Most of the film's characters are unconvincing, flattened out by Charlie's self-focused lens. Read full review
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