Men & Chicken
Drafthouse Films | Release Date: April 22, 2016 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
64
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 18 Critic Reviews
Positive:
11
Mixed:
7
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Nathalie AtkinsonMay 19, 2016
It’s a twisted existential grotesque that wrings thought-provoking pathos and even affection for the lunatics running the menagerie, no mean feat. Read full review
83
The Film StageJared MobarakMar 18, 2016
It’s Mikkelsen who steals the show playing so far against type that you wonder how it could be him. Read full review
80
EmpireDavid ParkinsonJul 18, 2016
Hilarious in places, hideous in others, this struggles to make its philosophical case. But the performances are exceptional and the conceit could not be more daring or distinctive. Read full review
80
Screen DailyAllan HunterMar 18, 2016
The joy of Men & Chicken is the way the absurdist comedy can dissolve to expose some intriguing philosophical arguments. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleJosh KupeckiApr 27, 2016
Combining elements of slapstick, horror, and psychodrama (not to mention Darwinism, bestiality, and harelips), Men & Chicken is a film – nay, a world – into which you just dive, and unlike most of the stuff out there, from one moment to the next, you have no idea what is going to happen. It is a black comedy that nimbly switches tones so often it can feel like whiplash. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comSheila O'MalleyApr 22, 2016
What does all of this add up to? Damned if I know. But it's fun to see a film that plays by its own rules to such a degree that any comparison to anything else falls apart. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesMichael RechtshaffenApr 21, 2016
In Jensen's uniquely wacky world, there's a genuine affection for his offbeat characters. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeMar 18, 2016
Even given the standards of off-the-rails cinematic family reunions, you'd have to look a while to find one as bizarre as Anders Thomas Jensen's Men & Chicken. Read full review
70
VarietyPeter DebrugeMar 18, 2016
In its own playful way, this tonally astounding, genre-confounding movie offers a variation on the famous chicken-and-egg debate, being a twisted inquiry into the characters’ origins and mankind’s own search for meaning. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeTy BurrMay 5, 2016
As visually overstuffed as a hoarder’s apartment, the movie improves as it goes. Read full review
63
Slant MagazineChuck BowenApr 19, 2016
An admirably bizarre and beautiful genre mixtape, but Anders Thomas Jensen's empathy for his characters gradually impedes his imagination. Read full review
60
CineVueBen NicholsonJul 14, 2016
There is meaning beneath the madness, but Men & Chicken is best recommended to those who are prepared to sit through the deeply sinister absurdity. Read full review
60
Time Out LondonDavid ClackJul 12, 2016
Men & Chicken is a fun film but rarely a funny one; clever comic touches abound but are undermined by some base slapstick. Read full review
60
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzMay 12, 2016
Jensen has a real gift for comedic editing, knowing just how long to play out a bit and when to move on. And Mikkelsen goes all in with his performance (as does everyone else). Read full review
60
The New York TimesGlenn KennyApr 21, 2016
The movie’s grave commitment to its own quirkiness is admirable, I suppose. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to recommend it. Read full review
50
Washington PostAnn HornadayMay 5, 2016
Jensen positions Men & Chicken as a fablelike ode to humanism and tolerance, but his obsession with brutish sexuality and mean, slapstick humor makes that claim feel unearned and glib. Read full review
50
Village VoiceMichael NordineApr 21, 2016
Mikkelsen, blessed with the rare ability to class up a joint while also being the most menacing guy in the room, is cast against type as a mustachioed philanderer; based on the evidence, his estimable talents are better suited to Hannibal. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubMike D'AngeloApr 21, 2016
The film is grotesque and bizarre without ever really being funny, and while the sight of Mikkelsen as a nebbishy loser is initially bracing, the novelty wears off fast, leaving little else. Read full review
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