Joe Somebody
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation | Release Date: December 19, 2001 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
42
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 21 Critic Reviews
Positive:
4
Mixed:
11
Negative:
6
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
70
Los Angeles TimesKevin Thomas
Joe Somebody sends audiences home happy but also with an awareness that happy endings have to be earned in real life as on the screen. Read full review
63
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
For all the story's bland familiarity, it has winning moments. Allen's no actor, but he projects a likeable personality. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeJay Carr
The cop-out is mitigated by Allen's ability to impart a comfortable, lived-in quality to his roles, this one included.
63
USA TodayMike Clark
A lot of this goes down surprisingly well, even if Panettiere, through no fault of her own, is saddled with phony precocious dialogue that makes her sound like an ancient sage. Read full review
60
VarietyScott Foundas
Pretty formulaic stuff: bland self-empowerment tinged with warm fuzzies in all the right places. But what makes this "Somebody" something is Pasquin's deft touch and understanding with the material. Read full review
60
Washington PostStephen Hunter
It's not great; it's also not idiotic. Read full review
60
Film ThreatGareth Von Kallenbach
An entertaining diversion and if you want a light film to just sit back and relax to, then this might just be your movie. Read full review
50
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
It turns out that Joe ends up liking the old Joe better too. Who just so happens to be the kind of average-Joe character that continues to make Allen such a tidy, non-Joe bundle. Read full review
50
Miami HeraldCharles Savage
The best scenes in the movie belong to James Belushi.
50
Baltimore SunChris Kaltenbach
This is harmless fun for the holiday season, but Tim Allen doesn't give movie the punch it needs.
50
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
It's routine, TV sitcom fodder, but the supporting cast is better than average. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleCarla Meyer
An odd picture, a rumination on depression and self-discovery that's couched as an office comedy. Read full review
40
TV Guide MagazineSteve Simels
The picture is nearly stolen, however, by co-star Greg Germann (of TV's Ally McBeal) in the role of Joe's company's resident corporate weasel. Germann's squinty-eyed insincerity is truly a marvel to behold, and it's an astringent corrective to the film's rather too frequent feel-good passages. Read full review
40
The New York TimesStephen Holden
Continually squanders its opportunities for hilarity. Read full review
40
New Times (L.A.)Luke Y. Thompson
It isn't until Joe starts getting confident and cocky that Allen starts to feel a little more natural in the role, and by then the movie's plot has all but evaporated into a series of wispy gags that barely register. Read full review
38
New York Daily NewsJami Bernard
An unimaginative schoolyard-bully comedy.
38
New York PostJonathan Foreman
The demands of formula eventually stifle anything that even looks like inspiration or honesty. Read full review
38
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
It's a simple, wholesome parable, crashingly obvious, and we sit patiently while the characters and the screenplay slowly arrive at the inevitable conclusion. It needs to take some chances and surprise us. Read full review
38
Chicago TribuneRobert K. Elder
If "American Beauty" were a bland comedy, it would be Joe Somebody. Read full review
30
L.A. WeeklyMark Olsen
It all misses the mark emotionally, hindered by one-dimensional characters and telegraphed developments. Read full review
20
Chicago ReaderLisa Alspector
Wasn't worth Allen's time and isn't worth yours. Read full review
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