Adam 2009

Ben Mankiewicz, At the Movies: A sweet, atypical love story. Read more

Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times: Hugh Dancy plays a Manhattan engineer who suffers from Asperger's syndrome in this charming romantic comedy. Read more

Keith Uhlich, Time Out: It's hogwash of the highest order, a romanticized take on disability that sees it both as God-gifted higher calling and seductive precoital bling. Read more

Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: Adam succeeds at getting inside its hero's mind and, more impressively still, gives us entree to his singular soul. Read more

John Hartl, Seattle Times: For much of its first hour, writer/director Max Mayer's Adam is one of the year's more endearing love stories. Read more

Nathan Rabin, AV Club: The film is afflicted with a fatal case of the cutes: It's never an encouraging sign when The Little Prince, that eternal touchstone of precious perma-children, emerges as a major motif for a romantic drama. Read more

Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: While it's probable that this movie will bring Asperger's to an audience that's never heard of or experienced it, it's also likely to bore them. Read more

Cliff Doerksen, Chicago Reader: Written and directed by Max Mayer, this anodyne romantic comedy is as predictable as the alphabet but should hold particular appeal to women whose maternal impulses inflect their mating instincts. Read more

Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle: Sure, it's complicated, but isn't that always true of romance? And doesn't it blow the hinges off the universe -- every single time? Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: There's no getting around the character's plight as an eternal outsider or the natural sympathy it draws. But writer-director Mayer never loses control of this fact, offering a story that's both sweet and tart, unique and familiar. Read more

Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: Adam is sweet, meticulous, and, at times, sort of clever, but it's also a not-quite-surprising-enough heartwarming trifle. Read more

Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times: Adam is a most welcome summer treat. Read more

Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: Dancy's eye-opening performance reveals he's a bona-fide acting talent, capable of carrying a movie without ever playing to your affections. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: Hugh Dancy, so often just a bland safe boyfriend in femme-oriented films, gives an ironically heartfelt performance as the emotionally insulated Adam. Read more

Lou Lumenick, New York Post: The beautifully crafted Adam offers no pat or easy answers to wrenching questions. Read more

Rex Reed, New York Observer: A touching and engaging film about a likable and attractive young man who suffers from Asperger's syndrome. Read more

Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: Adam is As Good as It Gets with a dash of Rain Man, movie comfort food, but still charms us through the familiar rhythms of its story. Read more

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: To its credit, Adam doesn't go for the cheap, easy solution. In that way, the film shares something of the spirit (and realism?) of (500) Days of Summer: an acknowledgment that not every close encounter, no matter how meaningful, can last forever. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: This is an affirmation that it's still possible to find smart movies about one of the most basic aspects of the human experience: falling in love. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: Adam wraps up the story in too tidy a package, insisting on finding the upbeat in the murky, and missing the chance to be more thoughtful about this challenging situation. Read more

Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com: I'm sorry to report that beyond that educational element and the delicate performances of Dancy and Byrne, I found Adam dramatically limp, predictable and in a curious way even retrograde. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: Adam is a minor, tolerably enjoyable romance that doesn't add up to anything much. Read more

Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: It may not be original, but Adam could leave a lump in your throat. Read more

Jennie Punter, Globe and Mail: Were it not for the fine engaging performances of both Dancy and Byrne, Adam would be sickly sweet. Read more

Bruce Demara, Toronto Star: The film rides on Dancy's wonderfully authentic performance. Read more

Hank Sartin, Time Out: Read more

Nina Caplan, Time Out: It feels dishonest, which is a problem for a film so interested in truthfulness - especially one trying to reconcile that interest with the demands of a Hollywood romcom. Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: Adam is a cut above most romances and boasts a intriguing conclusion. One comes away with a sense of hope, leavened by realism. Read more

Justin Chang, Variety: Emotionally potent performances, gently offbeat humor and writer-helmer Max Mayer's assured touch guide this tender New York love story to a quietly hopeful conclusion. Read more

Ella Taylor, Village Voice: Other than Rose Byrne's on-screen radiance and a soothingly warm palette lit by cinematographer Seamus Tierney, there's not much to get passionate about in this amiable chamberpiece from theater director Max Mayer. Read more