Junebug

Name: Junebug
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Released: August 3, 2005
Duration: 106 min
Rating: 80
Cast: Alessandro Nivola, Embeth Davidtz

2005

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 34 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 106 Ratings

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7.9

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7.9	Your Score
7.9	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 106 Ratings

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Junebug

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Movie Details & Credits

Sony Pictures Classics | Release Date: August 3, 2005 | R

Starring: Alessandro Nivola, Embeth Davidtz

Summary: When Madeleine (Davidtz), a British-born dealer in regional, "outsider" art, travels from Chicago to North Carolina to pursue a local painter for her gallery, she and her brand-new, younger husband George (Nivola) extend the trip to include an introduction to his family. Madeleine confronts the difficulty of two cultures colliding, andWhen Madeleine (Davidtz), a British-born dealer in regional, "outsider" art, travels from Chicago to North Carolina to pursue a local painter for her gallery, she and her brand-new, younger husband George (Nivola) extend the trip to include an introduction to his family. Madeleine confronts the difficulty of two cultures colliding, and discovers the tumultuous outcome as these separate ways of life must coexist. (Sony Pictures Classics)… Expand

Director: Phil Morrison

Genre(s): Drama, Comedy

Rating: R

Runtime: 106 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

Owen Gleiberman

Amy Adams in a performance as deep as it is delightful, is the film's heart and also its flaky, wonderstruck soul. Read full review

100

Stanley Kauffmann

The screenwriter Angus MacLachlan and the director Phil Morrison and an astonishingly perfect cast have quietly made a daring picture. Read full review

Ann Hornaday

Manages to be one of the genuinely fresh discoveries of the summer, a little gem that deserves to become a big sleeper hit. Read full review

Duane Byrge

Not merely a sitcom of cultural clash. Screenwriter Angus Maclachlan has delicately etched a compelling portrait of a way of life whose decencies and simplicities are often dismissed as being "unsophisticated." Read full review

Laura Sinagra

It's an exhilaratingly decentered tale, with the perspective shifting around so there's no character with whom we totally identify throughout. Read full review

Dallas Observer Bill Gallo

Combining the tragic and the comic, this drama is amateurish in places, but it's a triumph of atmosphere (the makers are both North Carolinians) and the acting is first-rate. Read full review

Ty Burr

A textbook case of filmmakers who can't make up their minds about their characters; it's a failure of nerve disguised as dramatic ambiguity. Read full review

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User Reviews

RonaldM.

Apr 4, 2006

This is a great film. In the tradition of Jean Renior and Robert Altman it captures the nuances of life. Sometimes funny, sometimes sad. It is as unpredictable as life.

1 of 1 users found this helpful

DannyG.

Aug 23, 2005

Great acting, especially from Amy Adams.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

PaulaW.

Oct 19, 2005

The best thing about Junebug are the dead-on renditions of a particular set of hideously awkward moments. Believe me, I've lived through the situation in which a brunette city girl with an international background meets her small-town Southern inlaws, and they nailed it. The critics The best thing about Junebug are the dead-on renditions of a particular set of hideously awkward moments. Believe me, I've lived through the situation in which a brunette city girl with an international background meets her small-town Southern inlaws, and they nailed it. The critics who didn't see this movie's perfect emotional pitch are just clueless. I especially liked Johnny: he is in such obvious pain, ducking every interaction, wanting to impress his wife and only succeeding in messing up her baby shower. Only a couple of missteps kept me from giving this a 10. First, while Embeth Davidtz did a brilliant job of acting a thankless part, she isn't devastatingly pretty enough, especially by Southern standards, especially compared with Amy Adams, to justify the family's reaction to her. Second, although I loved the still shots of empty rooms, which to me were affectionate and very telling, I did get a whiff of the patronizing in the way the small town is portrayed: just how extraordinary is it that workers in a warehouse should be obsessed with football to the point of talking about it all day? I found that much less grotesque than I think the filmmakers wanted me to.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful

Keith

Feb 7, 2006

A lovely and thoughtful film. It demonstrates the complex nature of familial relationships in wonderfully subtle story-telling. It is not a perfect film--the first hour or so contains scenes awkwardly directed and acted (particularly by Davidtz and McKenzie), but the second half is full of A lovely and thoughtful film. It demonstrates the complex nature of familial relationships in wonderfully subtle story-telling. It is not a perfect film--the first hour or so contains scenes awkwardly directed and acted (particularly by Davidtz and McKenzie), but the second half is full of quiet revelations. Adams has garnered much praise and all is deserved. Her performance is so natural and effortless she threatens to steal the whole thing. I look forwad to seeing her career take-off from here. All in all, an excellent movie, full of wonderful moments and much to say about how family histories are permanent and deep-rooted and ongoing. Not even romantic love can knock the house off its foundation.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful

JLuis_001

Jun 26, 2021

It's not a great movie, far from it, but it was the one that showed how much talent Amy Adams had, when only 4 years before she was surviving in tiny and irrelevant roles in film and television.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

BKM

Apr 25, 2013

Junebug attempts to explore the enormous cultural and social gulf between red and blue state America by honing in on the disconnects between individuals, particularly family members and spouses. It's all handled with intelligence and care, but carries no dramatic weight. Much of theJunebug attempts to explore the enormous cultural and social gulf between red and blue state America by honing in on the disconnects between individuals, particularly family members and spouses. It's all handled with intelligence and care, but carries no dramatic weight. Much of the animosity amongst these characters is revealed by what isn't said, and in Junebug that's a lot. So much so that it's difficult to care what the reasons actually are.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

NancyC.

Apr 29, 2006

Sinister "Deliverance" meets simpering Melanie Wilkes by way of the lobotomized dysfunction of "The Royal Tennenbaums". A feast of sterotypes and short cuts. C'mon, put a littie effort into it next time. This movie was an insult, I don't care where the director was born.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

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34	#34 Best Movie of 2005
79	#79 Most Discussed Movie of 2005
86	#86 Most Shared Movie of 2005