The Independent
Arrow Releasing | Release Date: November 30, 2001 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
52
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 17 Critic Reviews
Positive:
5
Mixed:
10
Negative:
2
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
Film ThreatRon Wells
We need more films like THIS! The filmmaking team of Stephen Kessler and Mike Wilkins join Jerry Stiller and Janeane Garofalo to pay loving tribute to the world of exploitation films. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleMarrit Ingman
Goofily funny, oddly tenderhearted mock-documentary. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
Deadpan, dead-on parody of a schlockmeister at work and play. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeErin Meister
A charming and funny look at the independent filmmaking business and the thin line between a masterpiece and a $9 nap. Read full review
63
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
Dumb fun is the best way to describe The Independent, and I mean that as a compliment. Read full review
60
L.A. WeeklyPaul Malcolm
Kessler frames it all with an ironic eye (Stiller's misfit mogul holds court in cheap motels and burger joints) and with enough big-hearted tenderness to keep the humor from going sour. Read full review
60
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
Unashamedly silly, inevitably erratic, it has so much fun sending up the world of exploitation filmmaking that even the most serious film student won't be able to suppress a laugh or two. Maybe even more. Read full review
58
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
Despite laughs, the movie only sporadically works. Its satire is too broad and silly to have much sting. Read full review
50
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
Everyone involved obviously had a blast, but in the end this is a one-joke movie, and the joke is stretched too thin. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
May be the only movie in recent memory unworthy of its own genuinely hilarious Web site, www.finemanfilms.com. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleCarla Meyer
Really is just an excuse to string together some silly fake-movie clips. Read full review
50
The New York TimesStephen Holden
It strings along its joke just long enough to keep from wearing out its welcome. Read full review
50
Chicago ReaderJ. R. Jones
Slack and saccharine more often than it's funny. Read full review
50
New York PostJonathan Foreman
There are some charming moments and some funny scenes along the way. But you end up feeling sorry for the likes of Ron Howard, Karen Black, Fred Williamson and Peter Bogdanovich, who agreed to play themselves in cameo. Read full review
40
VarietyJoe Leydon
Would have worked better with a few more ersatz coming-attraction trailers and considerably less filler. More than likely, it would have worked best of all as an hourlong special on Comedy Central. Read full review
38
Miami HeraldConnie Ogle
Excruciatingly unamusing. Read full review
30
Village VoiceDennis Lim
It lacks the coherent internal logic that distinguishes the best mockumentaries. Read full review
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