Joe Bell
Roadside Attractions | Release Date: July 23, 2021 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
54
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 26 Critic Reviews
Positive:
11
Mixed:
12
Negative:
3
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
Rolling StoneK. Austin CollinsJul 29, 2021
For Joe Bell to largely be a tale of one man’s inner journey rather than a dive into the unknowns of his son’s inner life and eventual tragedy is not out of turn. It is a worthwhile story to tell. The flaw is not in assigning gravity to Joe’s journey. Read full review
60
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriJul 24, 2021
The problem with Joe Bell isn’t that it’s telling Joe’s story; that’s an important (and tragic) tale that should be told. The problem is that it fails to also tell Jadin’s story — even after it makes the point that Jadin’s journey is inextricable from Joe’s. Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubA.A. Dowd Sep 20, 2020
Wahlberg, delivering a performance that feels like community service, just isn’t up to driving a drama whose conflict is almost entirely internal; his default setting of sneering irritation is the wrong tool for the job. It leaves you wondering if this should have more fully been Jadin’s story, especially given the sensitivity of Miller’s turn. Read full review
55
SlashfilmMarshall ShafferSep 20, 2020
Green’s humanistic stamp is evident when Wahlberg expresses a soulful sentiment or denunciation of narrow-minded thinking, yet there’s little for any director to do when faced with such an untidy script. Read full review
50
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzJul 23, 2021
Joe Bell is a well-meaning film with a gripping story it can’t quite figure out how to tell. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsJul 23, 2021
There’s a good movie in the story of Joe Bell and Jadin Bell. The good one struggles to emerge from the good try we have here. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleJul 20, 2021
It’s a flat, forlorn movie with occasional sparks of life. Read full review
50
ObserverRex ReedJul 19, 2021
It’s still worth seeing, mainly for the depth and feeling Mark Wahlberg exhibits in the title role, but fails to expand a viewer’s vision and understanding of an otherwise hot-button topic beyond a superficial surface. Read full review
50
Screen DailyTim GriersonSep 20, 2020
Because Good Joe Bell spends so much time wondering how this father will change and grow, it doesn’t concentrate enough on his son, who is actually experiencing the bullying. Read full review
42
The PlaylistRobert DanielsSep 20, 2020
A brisk film that could do with twenty more minutes, Green’s “Good Joe Bell” has its heart in the right place, but the limited gaze the writers and director offer withholds this redemptive tale from being the uplifting critique of homophobia and bullying that it needs to be. Read full review
40
Screen RantSarah Bea MilnerJul 23, 2021
Although there is much to love in the picture, and the subject matter is a topic that needs to be part of the public discourse, the film's many faults distract from the compelling people and events that Joe Bell is trying to honor. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleMarc SavlovJul 22, 2021
For all its hot button, au courant moral messaging, Joe Bell is preaching to the converted and unlikely to draw in the type of audience that actually needs to hear its pleas for kindness in a mean and wild world. Read full review
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