The Extra Man
Magnolia Pictures | Release Date: July 30, 2010 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
56
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 26 Critic Reviews
Positive:
13
Mixed:
10
Negative:
3
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
85
MovielineStephanie Zacharek
The Extra Man is something of a love letter to the marvelous weirdos of New York. Read full review
75
Christian Science MonitorPeter Rainer
There are fine, wry moments tucked inside the curdled whimsy. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleAmy Biancolli
For Kline's performance alone, The Extra Man is well worth seeing. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesKevin Thomas
The Extra Man" isn't in the same league as Pulcini and Berman's landmark "American Splendor" with Paul Giamatti as the late Harvey Pekar, but it has its moments - especially in its evocation of the sense that New York offers a greater sense of security for brave yet vulnerable individualists the way a sprawling, amorphous and transient city like Los Angeles rarely can. Read full review
70
VarietyTodd McCarthy
Although too devoted to matters literary, theatrical, operatic and sexually outre to make it with general audiences, this adaptation of Jonathan Ames' novel exudes the sort of smarts and sophisticated charm specialized audiences seek. Read full review
70
Wall Street JournalJohn Anderson
Directors Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini show the same appreciation for eccentrics and humanity they brought to "American Splendor" and Mr. Dano's Louis is a delicately wrought wonder. Read full review
70
SalonAndrew O'Hehir
You'll either find The Extra Man utterly charming or thoroughly mystifying, but either way Kevin Kline, playing a community-theater version of himself, with all the foppishness and Shakespearean pretension but half the talent and none of the luck, inhabits its peculiar soul. Read full review
70
Village VoiceMelissa Anderson
Going below the surface, the filmmakers and the cast (including a marvelous performance by Marian Seldes as an osteoporotic doyenne) successfully create the hardest characters to pull off: exotic yet recognizable New Yorkers. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubNoel Murray
The Extra Man is kooky to a fault, and Dano is a major drag, with his soft voice and blank expression. But Kline gives a wild, wonderful performance, reminiscent of his work on "A Fish Called Wanda." Read full review
63
St. Louis Post-DispatchCalvin Wilson
Although their latest film is not without a certain charm, it quickly wears out its welcome. Read full review
63
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
We know Kline can play kooky (he won an Oscar as Otto in "A Fish Called Wanda"), and he does it very well, but the effort can become exhausting after a while. Read full review
63
Chicago TribuneMichael Phillips
Some actors are dinner. Kevin Kline is dessert, and his comic brio saves the film version of The Extra Man from its limitations. Read full review
63
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
Kline salvages the picture with his dynamic, utterly unpredictable performance -- the work of a highly skilled comedian thrilled by the opportunity to go nuts once again. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterKirk Honeycutt
This odd collection of oddballs doesn't quite play out as a satisfying movie. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
Kline has a ball, while Dano turns in a pitch-perfect performance. He never mocks his character's desires, or undersells his fears. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeTy Burr
Everyone in the film is an uninteresting grotesque. Read full review
50
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
What feels enjoyably outré in the 1998 coming-of-age novel by Jonathan Ames (creator of HBO's Bored to Death) feels oppressively outré in this deadened, literal adaptation. Read full review
50
Washington PostSean O\\\\\\\'Connell
Swifter comedic timing and a clearer narrative thread might have helped center this peculiar adaptation of Jonathan Ames's 1998 novel of the same name. Read full review
50
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike Scott
The result is a film with sporadic outbursts of wackiness, but one that (Oh, Fortuna's Wheel!) never gains traction from a storytelling standpoint. Read full review
50
The New York TimesStephen Holden
For all its flighty charms, The Extra Man never really lands. It hovers like a hummingbird madly beating its wings to stay aloft. Read full review
50
Rolling StonePeter Travers
Kline finds every nuance of mirth and melancholy in this wonder of a role and rides it to glory. You can't take your eyes off him. Read full review
50
Boxoffice MagazineMark Keizer
The original Jonathan Ames novel from 1998 is a rich, funny and unusual work. The movie opts for the funny and unusual, leaving us with characters ill-equipped to rise above their shtick or engage our sympathy. Read full review
40
Time OutJoshua Rothkopf
The movie you were hoping to avoid. Read full review
30
Chicago ReaderCliff Doerksen
Based on a novel by Jonathan Ames, this drearily quirky mess wants to be "Secretary" for submissive males, but it's just a sitcom in a powdered wig and size 17 pumps. Read full review
25
ObserverRex Reed
The film knocks itself unconscious trying to be whimsical and offbeat, but is so contrived that it is as embarrassing as it is unfunny. Read full review
25
New York PostKyle Smith
Darlings, there's nothing quite so tragique as a boring eccentric. Read full review
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