Diminished Capacity
IFC Films | Release Date: July 4, 2008 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
54
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 13 Critic Reviews
Positive:
5
Mixed:
8
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
83
Entertainment WeeklyLeah Greenblatt
The result is fairly silly slapstick, but Alda, hair disheveled and brow knit with stubborn intent, is both fierce and quietly heartbreaking. Read full review
75
New York PostKyle Smith
The smart indie comedy Diminished Capacity deals with three kinds of dementia: those relating to aging, concussions and being a Chicago Cubs fan. Tying those three things together is a task that the witty script does with surprising adroitness. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesJan Stuart
All of the actors convey the ebullience of old friends convening for an on-the-cheap reunion. The shared good spirits result in a diminutive comedy with a bounty of charm and shrewd humor. Read full review
63
USA TodayClaudia Puig
A road movie that never really takes off. Read full review
63
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
A risky, not entirely successful comedy about mental disability, based on the novel by Sherwood Kiraly. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterKirk Honeycutt
Alda actually is kind of interesting as the mentally unstable uncle, but Broderick appears to be sleepwalking. Madsen has little to do, and everyone else plays things far too broadly. Read full review
50
VarietyJohn Anderson
A God's little acre's worth of premeditated eccentricity runs through Diminished Capacity, a triumphant losers-in-Cornville comedy starring Matthew Broderick in a role he might have phoned in, and Alan Alda as a combination Jed Clampett and Raymond Babbitt. Read full review
50
Village VoiceNick Pinkerton
It's the kind of lite movie you go and see with your mom, and she'll say she liked it--but then a year later, you're both trying to remember what it was even about. Two and a half shrugs. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneMichael Phillips
Striving for low-key character comedy, Diminished Capacity ends up diminishing its returns. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubNoel Murray
Broderick, Alda, and Madsen are all fine--and Alda has some poignant moments as he realizes the implications of his forgetfulness--but their presence in a movie like this reaffirms its conventionality. Read full review
50
The New York TimesManohla Dargis
Touches earnestly on heart-heavy issues of loss: loss of memory, of love and, perhaps because of the local angle, of (or rather by) the Chicago Cubs. But Mr. Kinney, a founder of the Steppenwolf Theater Company in Chicago and a familiar face from film and television, never gives his movie a sustained pulse. Read full review
50
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
When a respected actor moves into the director's chair, he can usually draw a pretty good cast, which is certainly the case here... But Sherwood Kiraly's slight script only makes this embarrassment of riches seem more embarrassing. Read full review
50
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
A mild pleasure from one end to the other, but not much more. Maybe that's enough, serving as a reminder that movie comedies still can be about ordinary people and do not necessarily have to feature vulgarity as their centerpiece. Read full review
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