The Misfortunates
NeoClassics Films | Release Date: April 9, 2010 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
54
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 11 Critic Reviews
Positive:
6
Mixed:
3
Negative:
2
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
There's whimsy and raunchy humor here, but also an underlying sense of darkness and despair. Read full review
80
L.A. WeeklyChuck Wilson
Deftly mixing the visual exuberance of “Trainspotting” with the familial pathos of “Angela’s Ashes,” the gifted van Groeningen offers gleeful depictions of drinking contests and naked bicycle races that gradually give way to a sense of moral peril for young Gunther. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterDuane Byrge
While The Misfortunates careens with madcap hilarity through the Strobbe's tumultuous lives, it also resonates with its serious story undercurrent. In essence, it is the story of a boy's struggle to survive, and, in this case, evolve. Read full review
80
NPRJeannette Catsoulis
If Ken Loach and Roberto Benigni went into a bar, drank themselves into a stupor and emerged the next morning with a screenplay, it might look a lot like The Misfortunates. Read full review
70
VarietyBoyd Van Hoeij
Calling the Strobbe clan a working-class family would imply that some of its members worked (or had class), but none of the lowlife protags do in the visually robust and often hilarious Flemish tragicomedy The Misfortunates. Read full review
70
Village VoiceNicolas Rapold
Often very funny, and the rolling remember-when vignettes trump the typical low-country wild-hairy-man sideshows. Read full review
60
Time OutAaron Hillis
Adapted from Dimitri Verhulst’s semi-autobiographical novel with a flair that recalls the squalor-and-dazzle visuals of “Trainspotting,” Felix Van Groeningen’s highly entertaining tale is full of hilarity, horror and heartbreak (sometimes within the same scene). Read full review
50
New York PostV.A. Musetto
The acting is super -- these guys know how to be sweet and disgusting -- and the story provides its share of laughs. But after a while, the one-note movie, directed by Felix van Groeningen, grows tiresome. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
The movie has to twist your arm to get you to feel for these people. But you wouldn’t be wrong to think it’s been broken. Read full review
30
The New York TimesManohla Dargis
They drink at the pub, they drink at home. They drink until they pass out and then, after they have had a good vomit, they drink again. If that sounds too disgusting to watch, it almost is. Read full review
20
New York Daily NewsJoe Neumaier
The title of The Misfortunates ­really applies to any audiences unlucky enough to sit through it. Read full review
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