House of D
Lions Gate Films | Release Date: April 15, 2005 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
33
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 31 Critic Reviews
Positive:
2
Mixed:
15
Negative:
14
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
70
Los Angeles TimesKevin Thomas
A film that takes a steadfastly gentle look at some of life's harshest moments while not overlooking its joys, House of D deserves a chance to find an audience. Read full review
63
Miami HeraldConnie Ogle
Steeped in pitch-perfect nostalgia and propelled by equal doses of comedy and tragedy. Read full review
50
VarietyDavid Rooney
David Duchovny scores considerably higher as director than as screenwriter. Read full review
50
L.A. WeeklyElla Taylor
David Duchovny’s debut as a writer-director puts little flesh on the bones of the roguish tricks he got up to as a lad in Greenwich Village in the 1970s. Read full review
50
New York Daily NewsJami Bernard
Sappy and improbable. Read full review
50
SalonAndrew O'Hehir
The good news is that Duchovny has an undeniable feel for this medium, and a fine rapport with actors. Read full review
50
Rolling StonePeter Travers
The film looks and feels authentic, but Duchovny has powered his undeniably personal journey with a counterfeit heart. Read full review
50
PremierePeter Debruge
Duchovny bookends his story with a modern-day framing device that takes all that has gone so well until this point and turns it cloyingly sentimental. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterFrank Scheck
David Duchovny delivers a clearly heartfelt but terminally mawkish and awkward directorial debut in House of D. Read full review
50
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
A heartfelt, '70s-era coming-of-age story with a prologue and epilogue set in the present day, marks the filmmaking debut of actor David Duchovny, who also wrote the symbol-studded screenplay. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
Though charming at times, just misses, due to a contrived story. Read full review
42
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
An overly picaresque first feature written and directed by David Duchovny, who also co-stars. Read full review
40
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
The war between highly specific coming-of-age angst and icky-sticky overcoming-adversity cliches eventually brings the whole thing down. Read full review
40
The A.V. ClubTasha Robinson
House Of D never feels honest, but when Duchovny consciously tries to score sentiment points, the strain is more than the film can handle. Read full review
40
Washington PostMichael O'Sullivan
A little more literary than lifelike, House of D is a story that feels too pat, and too perfect, for its own good. Read full review
40
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
Forgettable coming-of-age story. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleMarrit Ingman
Here's an interesting surprise: Dour, dry Duchovny's directorial debut is more weepy than creepy. Read full review
38
USA TodayClaudia Puig
The movie tries to be both comical and touching, as befitting the coming-of-age genre. But it feels forced, derivative and sometimes sappily sentimental. Read full review
38
New York PostLou Lumenick
That someone as smart as Duchovny would get bogged down in such predictable treacle is a mystery worthy of investigation by Scully and Mulder. Read full review
38
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
House of D is the kind of movie that particularly makes me cringe, because it has such a shameless desire to please; like Uriah Heep, it bows and scrapes and wipes its sweaty palm on its trouser leg, and also like Uriah Heep, it privately thinks it is superior. Read full review
38
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Jennie Punter
A bunch of scenes in need of a tighter narrative and, more importantly, a raison d'être. Read full review
38
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
House of D, is like the kind of sticky greeting card you'd find on CBS some Sunday nights. Read full review
38
Baltimore SunChris Kaltenbach
All the characters are writ in broad strokes, making it impossible to sympathize with, much less relate to, anyone. Read full review
30
Village VoiceEd Park
Marred by a rambling voice-over at one end and a pat therapeutic resolution on the other, the film has a nice half-hour patch somewhere in the middle. Read full review
30
The New York TimesDana Stevens
The burden of the story, which is maudlin and entirely unbelievable, weighs down even the more credible performances. Read full review
25
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
House of D, arrives in theaters this week, after debuting at the Tribeca Film Festival last year. I'm sorry to report it's the opposite of impressive. Read full review
25
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
As a director, Duchovny is in big trouble every frame of the way. His characters ring false, his scenes seem improperly motivated in a glaring way, and his distasteful obsession with imagery of unflushed cigarette butts bobbing in a toilet is beyond inexplicable. Read full review
25
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
All in all, it's hard to dispute that House of D declares its own worth on arrival. Read full review
20
Dallas ObserverBill Gallo
D is for Dreadful. And Duchovny. Read full review
12
Chicago TribuneAllison Benedikt
The fatal flaw in David Duchovny's big-screen directorial debut, House of D, is not Robin Williams as a retarded janitor. It's David Duchovny, the man who chose to cast Robin Williams as a retarded janitor. Read full review
10
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
Everyone in the film seems to be in solitary, thanks to Mr. Duchovny's stultifying style. If there was a single moment of spontaneity, it escaped me. Ditto for frivolity, though bogus poetry abounds.
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