Jakob the Liar
TriStar Pictures | Release Date: September 24, 1999 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
40
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 25 Critic Reviews
Positive:
5
Mixed:
14
Negative:
6
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
VarietyTodd McCarthy
A markedly better picture than Roberto Benigni's far more sentimental Oscar collector. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeJay Carr
Deserves a place alongside "Life Is Beautiful" and, yes, even "Schindler's List." Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
Of course, there's still the Williams schmaltz factor. Read full review
67
Portland OregonianDiana Abu-Jaber
Soggy. Read full review
63
Baltimore SunAnn Hornaday
As earnest as the performances are, something seems to be lost in the translation. Read full review
60
Washington PostStephen Hunter
But the best thing about Jakob the Liar is that it's not "Patch Adams at Auschwitz." Read full review
50
San Francisco ExaminerWesley Morris
More altruistic would be if Williams stopped torturing us with weepy endearments so he could look for that complex clown who used to mug just for laughs. Read full review
50
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
I prefer "Life Is Beautiful," which is clearly a fantasy, to Jakob the Liar, which is just as contrived and manipulative but pretends it is not. Read full review
50
Miami HeraldCurtis Morgan
Flat and forced, Jakob the Liar aspires to be a poignant parable about the power of hope but instead uses one of humanity's greatest tragedies for trite melodrama. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneMarc Caro
I never lost awareness that I was watching actors speaking lines, not real people --a problem I didn't have in the more unreal "Life Is Beautiful." Read full review
50
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
Williams' self-conscious and rather bland performance never comes close to bringing his character to life. Read full review
50
USA TodayMike Clark
What it isn't ... is a particularly compelling contribution to the impressive and by now enormous collection of Holocaust movies. Read full review
50
Film.comSean Means
The audience is ready for an unhappy ending -- and Hollywood should have the courage to provide it. Read full review
50
Chicago ReaderLisa Alspector
Pales in comparison to the controversial "Life Is Beautiful"--a more provocative fiction, if only because it's even less realist. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
Feels sterile and chilly; the humor -- Yiddish and otherwise -- falls flat, and sadly so does the film. Read full review
40
Film.comRobert Horton
Even on its own terms, it stays sluggish. Read full review
40
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
It begins with a stale Hitler joke and ends with a miraculous quick-save that demonstrates just how poorly the Holocaust is served by the life-affirming requirements of Hollywood features. Read full review
40
Dallas ObserverJean Oppenheimer
The supposedly funny quips and shrugs that fill Jakob the Liar are tepid at best and embarrassingly shticky at worst. Some are simply in bad taste. Read full review
40
The New York TimesJanet Maslin
Alternates between bumbling group antics and strained poignancy...anticipates all laughter and emotion in ways that make it its own worst enemy. Read full review
38
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
An awkwardly executed, tedious and -- a near impossibility for a Holocaust movie -- emotionally uninvolving bore. Read full review
38
New York PostJonathan Foreman
A particularly gross exploitation of the Holocaust for financial gain. Read full review
30
Rolling StonePeter Travers
The self-congratulatory histrionics of Williams, lower lip trembling as he triumphs over torture in the name of the human spirit, represents a trend in Hollywood to make accessible melodrama out of unspeakable tragedy.
20
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
The latest in what feels like an endless string of movies ... in which the actor's parts have ruinously overdosed on sentimentality and schmaltz at the expense of humor and even sanity. Read full review
19
Mr. ShowbizMichael Atkinson
A trial of cliche, strained optimism, and dire quasi-comedy. Read full review
10
L.A. WeeklyJohn Patterson
Just avoid this ghastly, insulting farrago at all costs. Read full review
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