The Dilemma
Universal Pictures | Release Date: January 14, 2011 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
46
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 32 Critic Reviews
Positive:
6
Mixed:
20
Negative:
6
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
New York PostKyle SmithJan 14, 2011
The movie is much like a really long beer commercial - but a really dark one. Read full review
70
The New YorkerDavid DenbyJan 21, 2011
Ryder is devious and witchy, her eyes flashing, her crinkly voice developing knife edges. She gives an acidly brilliant performance as a desperate, lying woman. [24 Jan. 2011, p. 83]
70
Los Angeles TimesBetsy SharkeyJan 13, 2011
What The Dilemma ultimately does best is create a platform for Vaughn to drag that iconic character of his into full-blown adulthood. Read full review
70
Chicago ReaderJ.R. JonesJan 13, 2011
The ugly emotional mess is so respectfully handled that the story resonates far beyond its comic designs. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleMarc SavlovJan 14, 2011
Howard surprises with this decidedly honest comedy-melodrama. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubScott TobiasJan 13, 2011
It never coheres as well as it should, but the film makes a fine mess. Read full review
60
EmpireGenevieve HarrisonJan 17, 2011
Hit-and-miss for Howard. The tone flits, sometimes uncomfortably, from Vaughn-fuelled laugh-fest to relationship drama, but it's a winner compared to many of the clunkly comedies out there. Read full review
60
Arizona RepublicRandy CordovaJan 12, 2011
There are a few big laughs, but there are also long stretches in which nothing funny happens. Read full review
58
Entertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumJan 13, 2011
The dilemma of The Dilemma is that the conundrum at the center of the story isn't particularly hilarious. Read full review
50
SalonAndrew O'HehirJan 20, 2011
I'm not sure whether Howard and screenwriter Allan Loeb are to be commended for aspiring to something odd and original, or condemned for a result that's so messy and miscellaneous. Read full review
50
Tampa Bay TimesSteve PersallJan 19, 2011
As a rollicking comedy, it isn't. Read full review
50
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike ScottJan 14, 2011
An uneven story that tries too hard to be meaningful and not hard enough to be funny. Read full review
50
St. Louis Post-DispatchJoe WilliamsJan 14, 2011
It's classic sitcom shtick, and The Dilemma is a painful reminder that director Ron Howard was trained in television. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleAmy BiancolliJan 13, 2011
Despite bursts of hilarity and an A-list cast, this is a dark, difficult, weirdly existential film - like some seriocomic spin on "I and Thou." Read full review
50
Washington PostStephanie MerryJan 13, 2011
Vaughn is the film equivalent of a well-known novelist that no longer gets a good edit. He has the charismatic salesguy shtick down, but he needs a director who can rein him in. Read full review
50
Rolling StonePeter TraversJan 13, 2011
Miles below the Woodman's class. It's possible that a more astringent script could have provided fuel for the actors and A-list director Ron Howard. Read full review
50
The New York TimesA.O. ScottJan 13, 2011
Ms. Ryder, playing the least sympathetic character with unflinching dignity and candor, is in many ways the reason The Dilemma works as well as it does. Read full review
50
MovielineMichelle OrangeJan 13, 2011
The Dilemma is bad in a way that seems to parody all the ways in which a film like, say, "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" was good. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsJan 13, 2011
Unexpectedly sour, The Dilemma barely qualifies as a comedy. Read full review
50
Boxoffice MagazineMark KeizerJan 12, 2011
The hijinx get deflating, yet the tension and genuine sense of investigation keep you involved. Read full review
50
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliJan 12, 2011
The Dilemma downshifts from slapstick to melodrama and back so abruptly that it is at times jarring. Read full review
50
VarietyJustin ChangJan 12, 2011
Not a particularly funny movie. Indeed, the true dilemma of this misguided seriocomedy lies in the filmmakers' confusion as to whether they're making a side-splitting bromance (nope) or an unsparing, warts-and-all look at screwed-up relationships (sort of). Read full review
50
Orlando SentinelRoger MooreJan 12, 2011
An unsatisfying if often surprising experience, a less warm and fuzzy "Parenthood." Read full review
40
New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinJan 17, 2011
Perhaps the late Blake Edwards could have found a balance between slapstick and psychodrama, but Ron Howard can't get the pacing right, and Allan Loeb's script is even wordier than the one he wrote for "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps." Read full review
40
Time OutJoshua RothkopfJan 14, 2011
How does one remain an unapologetic fan of Vaughn, abrasive though he is, even as his material fails him? Read full review
40
The Hollywood ReporterKirk HoneycuttJan 12, 2011
The Dilemma is so tone deaf to its themes that it thinks it's a light and slightly rude Vince Vaughn movie. It's not. Read full review
38
USA TodayScott BowlesJan 13, 2011
Vaughn and James are likable enough, and they would have real chemistry in, say, an all-out comedy. Read full review
38
Philadelphia InquirerSteven ReaJan 13, 2011
What distinguishes The Dilemma in this genre is its resounding unfunnyness, its emotional dishonesty, and the general unlikability of its cast of characters. Read full review
33
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerJan 14, 2011
The script by Allan Loeb careens all over the place without ever coming to rest on anything interesting. Read full review
25
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick GroenJan 14, 2011
Where the hell is the movie? Read full review
25
Boston GlobeWesley MorrisJan 13, 2011
Howard never decides on tones that complement each other, and the dissonance is jarring. Read full review
20
New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierJan 13, 2011
This tonal mishmash cripples The Dilemma almost immediately, though there are many other speed bumps, including Vaughn's irritating, fast-talking prattle. Read full review
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