I.O.U.S.A.
Roadside Attractions | Release Date: August 22, 2008 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
70
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 18 Critic Reviews
Positive:
14
Mixed:
3
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
If they handed out an Academy Award for Most Gripping Graphs and Charts, this film would take it. Read full review
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
It accomplishes an amazing thing. It explains the national debt, the foreign trade deficit, the decrease in personal savings, how the prime interest rate works, and the weakness of our leaders. Read full review
88
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
There's no quick fix for a culture "addicted to debt," as one wag puts it in the film. But watching I.O.U.S.A. is a good place to start. Read full review
83
Portland OregonianMarc Mohan
An informative and frightening documentary. Read full review
80
VarietyJustin Chang
Highly informative documentary reps a heady mix of charts, graphs and talking heads... superb packaging and timely subject matter. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterMichael Rechtshaffen
This smartly assembled wake-up call concerning the nation's lousy spending habits proves to be as unexpectedly spirited as it is dispiriting. Read full review
80
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
They deliver a clear and compelling primer on the federal budget deficit, the trade deficit, and the personal debt crisis, all of which are driving our country toward a catastrophic financial meltdown. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneSheri Linden
Packed with facts, figures and the testimony of policy experts, the film is no wallow in wonkiness, though, but a surprisingly sprightly tough-love lesson in fiscal responsibility. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubNathan Rabin
Though the filmmaking is playful at times, the film is essentially 90 percent message, 10 percent movie. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleWalter Addiego
Does about as good a job as any film could be expected to. Read full review
75
Christian Science MonitorPeter Rainer
It's this year's "An Inconvenient Truth." Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam Lacey
George W. Bush is hammered for doubling the debt load with his high-spending, low-taxing ways. Read full review
75
Baltimore SunMichael Sragow
Although the movie is unabashedly alarming, it's also intelligent fun. Read full review
70
The New York TimesJeannette Catsoulis
Equal parts enlightening and alarming. Read full review
60
Village VoiceMichelle Orange
Both a handy election primer and a bowel-rattling cry of fiscal doom. Read full review
58
Seattle Post-IntelligencerBill White
Perhaps, like Al Gore's lecture on global warming, the force of its argument will stir some of those who see it to further research the subject. Read full review
50
Washington PostPhilip Kennicott
There is a difference between the importance of a film's subject and the quality of a film's execution. And the execution is lacking. The film just isn't, well, very interesting. Read full review
10
L.A. WeeklyRobert Koehler
One graphic that I.O.U.S.A. doesn't include is a national balance sheet of our assets and liabilities, which would illustrate that the former is more than double the latter. We're in the black, and a film this deep in the red isn't something to be scared of at all -- or taken seriously. Read full review
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