Somebody Up There Likes Me
Tribeca Film | Release Date: March 8, 2013 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
58
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 12 Critic Reviews
Positive:
7
Mixed:
3
Negative:
2
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
IndieWireEric KohnFeb 1, 2013
Byington excels at turning the edict that time waits for no one into a sensory experience. No matter how sly it gets, Somebody Up There Likes Me still retains that fundamental truth. Read full review
89
Austin ChronicleLeah ChurnerApr 3, 2013
Somebody is nihilistic, misanthropic, and weirdly relaxing. I've never seen anything like it. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesMark OlsenMar 14, 2013
The film has a sarcastic tone, like that of a friend who you never can tell is kidding or not, which eventually breaks through into a place of unexpected sincerity. Meeting this odd, idiosyncratic "Somebody" is a rare delight. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterStephen DaltonFeb 1, 2013
Despite knowingly blank performances and a heavily ironic tone, the story ultimately accumulates emotional gravity, ending with a sardonic refection on the seasonal cycle of life that is worthy of a Kurt Vonnegut or Joseph Heller novel. Tragedy is comedy. Comedy is tragedy. So it goes. Read full review
75
The PlaylistWilliam GossFeb 1, 2013
Each scene is a brisk vignette of deadpan reversal, often involving a running theme of miscommunication. Read full review
70
Village VoiceTed ScheinmanMar 26, 2013
The whole thing comes off as a fairy tale bordering on hallucination, perhaps the vision of life that passes before the eyes at death. Read full review
63
Slant MagazineKenji FujishimaMar 25, 2013
Bob Byington's perspective may be above it all, but that doesn't quite account for the shades of melancholy that pop up unexpectedly in lines of dialogue and in some of the performances. Read full review
60
The New York TimesNeil GenzlingerMar 28, 2013
It’s all kind of cute. Maybe a little too cute, but it does have a nice circle-of-life ending. And along the way, Mr. Byington shows a knack for observational humor, slipping in sly jokes that force you to keep paying attention despite the slim plot. Droll and interesting; just not very substantial. Read full review
40
New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanMar 30, 2013
The actors hold our attention, and there’s something to be said for the guys’ pathological disconnect. But the movie itself is too disconnected to say it. Read full review
40
Time OutMichael AtkinsonMar 26, 2013
The time-killing universe Byington has created makes sure we never forget how absurd he thinks the whole movie is. Fun for him, perhaps. Read full review
33
The A.V. ClubMike D'AngeloMar 6, 2013
Bob Byington’s fifth feature — his best-known previous film was 2009’s equally gormless "Harmony And Me" — will play like the worst kind of performance art, in which contempt for conventional entertainment functions like a badge of integrity. You have to work pretty damn hard to make Nick Offerman this unfunny. Read full review
20
VarietyPeter DebrugeFeb 1, 2013
If nonchalance were an Olympic sport, Max would be a gold medalist, and watching Somebody Up There Likes Me is about as much fun as being a spectator at that event might sound. Read full review
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