What Goes Up
Sony Pictures | Release Date: May 29, 2009 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
22
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 10 Critic Reviews
Positive:
0
Mixed:
2
Negative:
8
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
SalonAndrew O'Hehir
Director and co-writer Jonathan Glatzer handles his talented cast well, and the movie is dark, droll and sentimental in roughly the correct proportions. Worth a look. Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubNoel Murray
What Goes Up has a one-of-a-kind character in Coogan, a cynic with a savior complex, who lies partly out of convenience, and partly because he knows--as Glatzer and Lawson know--that even a messy story can still inspire. Read full review
30
The New York TimesManohla Dargis
Even when Mr. Coogan can't make his scenes work, his prickly presence keeps you watching, as does the eerie scenes of winter that Mr. Glatzer captures with the camera. Read full review
30
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
The thesis-driven story precludes much dramatic discovery, and the looming shuttle disaster only exacerbates the sense of heavy-handedness. Read full review
20
VarietyBrian Lowry
A pointless and pretentious drama. Read full review
20
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
Glatzer's self-consciously quirky indie is misguided on every level. Read full review
10
The Hollywood ReporterEthan Alter
A turgid mess of a film that has a lot of ideas on its mind, none of which prove very interesting or in fact coherent. Read full review
10
Los Angeles TimesGlenn Whipp
Glatzer aims to wring laughter out of this desperation but succeeds only in producing a series of contrived characters and situations that make "The Breakfast Club" look like an unfiltered documentary. Read full review
0
Village VoiceVadim Rizov
This is rock bottom: I've seen a lot of terrible movies in the line of duty, but What Goes Up might be the only genuinely unreleasable one. Read full review
0
Chicago TribuneMichael Phillips
Nothing in this movie is properly focused; everyone keeps talking about a character whom we never meet and does not matter; the tone keeps slipping around from indolent satire to thudding sincerity, and the Challenger shuttle disaster backdrop is queasy-making at best, offensive at worst. Read full review
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