I Give It a Year
Magnolia Pictures | Release Date: August 9, 2013 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
50
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 23 Critic Reviews
Positive:
9
Mixed:
9
Negative:
5
Watch Now
Stream On
Stream On
Buy on
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Expand

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
New York Daily NewsJordan HoffmanAug 8, 2013
I Give It a Year has all the outrageous, embarrassment-based moments you’d expect from one of the creators of “Borat.” Indeed this film has one of the best charades gags ever. But there’s plenty of sweetness and charm, too. You root for both bride and groom, and cheer when they finally say, “I don’t.” Read full review
80
Village VoiceAlan ScherstuhlAug 6, 2013
The funny stuff outweighs the cock-ups, and supporting performances from Stephen Merchant and Minnie Driver kick the movie toward something grander. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleLeba HertzSep 5, 2013
A smart farce that would make Hugh Grant and his fans proud. Read full review
75
New York PostFarran Smith NehmeAug 9, 2013
As pure comedy, it’s a hoot. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubMike D'AngeloAug 7, 2013
That Mazer succeeds in playing this for laughs — however sporadic — rather than as a kitchen-sink downer is an achievement in itself. Read full review
75
Film.comWilliam GossMay 13, 2013
The beats and trappings are all standard-issue, but the gags are funny enough, often enough, to offset such routine proceedings. Read full review
70
VarietyLeslie FelperinMay 13, 2013
If the emotional mathematics don’t quite add up, enough diversion is provided by pic’s broader comic setpieces to paper over the cracks. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterMegan LehmannMay 13, 2013
An above-average number of laugh-out-loud set pieces compensate for the resulting wobbly narrative. Read full review
63
Boston GlobePeter KeoughAug 15, 2013
Though Mazer’s ambition is laudable, he has not yet integrated the comedy of manners into the comedy of no manners. Read full review
60
Los Angeles TimesSheri LindenAug 7, 2013
Instead of subversion, Mazer's first outing as a feature director offers only a tweak of genre conventions. He does achieve an above-average share of laugh-out-loud moments — welcome compensation in a romp that grows more forced with every turn. Read full review
60
Total FilmJosh WinningMay 13, 2013
In a film with obvious ambition, though, it’s a shame that it resorts to formula so quickly. Read full review
60
EmpireOlly RichardsMay 13, 2013
The jokes are strong and delivered by a very talented cast, but the heart isn’t there. It’s easy to laugh, but hard to care. Read full review
60
The TelegraphRobbie CollinMay 13, 2013
In the end it amounts to not much, but in the moment I laughed a lot. Read full review
60
The GuardianPeter BradshawMay 13, 2013
The result is funny and plausible, with a fair bit of newly modish Bridesmaidsy bad taste, though I kept getting the sense that the romcom template meant Mazer couldn't really let rip with pure comedy pessimism and cynicism in the way he might have liked. Read full review
50
RogerEbert.comSheila O'MalleyAug 9, 2013
The cast is terrific, and there are a couple of sequences that made me laugh out loud, but the movie as a whole is baffling. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineAndrew SchenkerAug 4, 2013
Much of the film's attempted laughs come from the comedy-of-discomfort school, with an endless array of situations that milk awkwardness to a degree that makes these scenes far more unpleasant than humorous to watch. Read full review
50
The DissolveNoel MurrayJul 10, 2013
The default middle ground between true-to-life and wacky in I Give It A Year turns out to be a place of dreary artificiality. Read full review
45
NPRElla TaylorAug 9, 2013
A raucously funny comic romance that's deaf and blind to the blithe spirit of romantic comedy. Read full review
37
Washington PostStephanie MerryAug 15, 2013
In addition to some trite set pieces, writer-director Dan Mazer serves up nothing more than conspicuous cynicism masquerading as comedy. Read full review
30
The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisAug 8, 2013
This painfully awkward product fails on almost every level. Read full review
25
The PlaylistDrew TaylorMay 13, 2013
I Give It a Year groans on, with unmemorable scene after unmemorable scene, each one more contingent on coincidence and happenstance than by the actual, gear-filled mechanics of drama or comedy. Read full review
20
Time OutDavid FearAug 6, 2013
Such manic fumblings and desperate crassness might be more forgivable were any of it actually, y’know, funny, but other than Olivia Colman’s occasional cameos as a raging therapist, the laughs have been granted a leave of absence. Read full review
10
Wall Street JournalJohn AndersonAug 8, 2013
Shockingly, the kind of cringe-inducing material upon which Mr. Mazer has built a career as a writer for Sacha Baron Cohen ("Bruno," "Borat," "Da Ali G Show") doesn't work when rendered by types who could have been cast in "Notting Hill" (someone even makes a Hugh Grant joke). It's rather close to excruciating. Read full review
More From This Movie

50 Critic Reviews

5.8 User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 81 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
2 77 Project Hail Mary
3 75 Send Help
4 73 Hoppers
5 72 The Sheep Detectives
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL