Jesus' Son
Lions Gate Films | Release Date: June 16, 2000 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
76
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 30 Critic Reviews
Positive:
27
Mixed:
3
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
The latter element joins with Crudup's excellent acting to make this deliberately scruffy tale a worthwhile experience if you can handle its explicitly sordid subplots. Read full review
90
Film.comErnest Hardy
An especially compassionate look at human frailty that also never loses sight of the inherent ridiculousness of "the human condition." Jesus' Son is one of this summer's best movies. Read full review
90
L.A. WeeklyPaul Cullum
Wildly funny bum's rush through the existentially absurd, self-engendered peaks and valleys of the junkie's lament. Read full review
90
Rolling StonePeter Travers
A mesmerizing film spinning from hilarity to heartbreak.
90
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
In a sea of one-note symphonies, this touching feature is bleak and comic, heartbreaking and affirmative, romantic and tragic, gimlet-eyed and sympathetic, all at the same time. Read full review
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
Jesus' Son surprises me with moments of wry humor, poignancy, sorrow and wildness. It has a sequence as funny as any I've seen this year. Read full review
88
Chicago TribuneJohn Petrakis
A story of faith and redemption, as viewed through the blurry and bloodshot eyes of a young man. Read full review
88
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
Floats before your eyes like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. The surprise is that, fitted together, these pieces make a completed picture. Read full review
85
Mr. ShowbizKevin Maynard
If you haven't seen his (Crudup's) work before, Jesus' Son could be the one that makes you his biggest disciple. Read full review
83
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
If the result doesn't make dazzling watching, it nonetheless has the power to haunt. Read full review
83
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
Another grotty drama about junkie love? Well, yes...I make an exception for Jesus' Son. Read full review
80
VarietyTodd McCarthy
An intermittently compelling and occasionally hilarious road movie. Read full review
80
SalonAndrew O'Hehir
It has a nobility and modesty, along with a refreshing lack of cynical attitude, that you rarely find in independent films these days. Read full review
80
TimeRichard Corliss
It's best to see this as a drug buffet. Graze through the vignettes... and you'll find three or four tasty bits to snack on. Read full review
80
Washington PostMichael O'Sullivan
Crudup gives a performance that is by turns scary, heartbreaking, grotesque and funny as hell. Read full review
80
The New York TimesA. O. Scott
One of the pleasures of Jesus' Son is watching a filmmaker take risks and discover new resources of style. Read full review
80
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
I don't much like movies about junkies...but this is easily the liveliest and most inventive I've seen since "Drugstore Cowboy" (1989). Read full review
80
Film.comOther (Specify)
Has the edge of black comedy that defines Maclean's sensibility, but it also has a mature new sweetness. And it's certainly one of the best films about the life of an addict since "Drugstore Cowboy." Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleMarjorie Baumgarten
The movie will not be for all tastes. Its seedy lifestyles, nonjudgmental attitudes, nonlinear narrative, and central character whose problem is his lack of emotions is definitely nonstandard fare. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
It's so wonderfully silly, coarse and down-to-Earth that its radiance sneaks up only over time. Read full review
75
San Francisco ExaminerWesley Morris
A dashing fusion of the literary and the cinematic. Read full review
70
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
But for all the divine touches, FH is no Jesus, or even his son: He's just another wide-eyed American Adam on the road again, a dazed and confused Huck Finn of the highways. Read full review
70
Dallas ObserverAndy Klein
Makes good use of its actors. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeJay Carr
It's often a downer, with a sweet but largely passive protagonist. Read full review
63
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
Grim stuff, filled with great sorrow and tragedy, but it's never maudlin or weepy. Read full review
63
New York Daily NewsJami Bernard
Movies about junkies are often brutal to watch, but Jesus' Son has such a light touch, you have little to fear. Little to gain, too. Read full review
63
New York PostJonathan Foreman
Transcends ironic grunge-glamour and achieves a beguiling combination of dark comedy and genuine sweetness. Read full review
58
Seattle Post-IntelligencerPaula Nechak
Meanders as aimlessly as its drugged-out characters. Read full review
50
Baltimore SunAnn Hornaday
Does it make it as a movie? Only in fits and starts. Read full review
50
Village VoiceMichael Atkinson
Though Maclean uses every trick available to make up for the missing inner voice, we never get into Crudup's mellow loser like we should. Maclean's got an incisive eye, but it's poised on the outside of the terrarium looking in. Read full review
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