De helaasheid der dingen 2009

Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: The Misfortunates is a bleak comedy that's not as funny or grim as it needs to be. Read more

Chuck Wilson, L.A. Weekly: A word of advice: Do not invite the Strobbe family over for Christmas dinner, as they're likely to leave the house strewn with beer bottles and broken furniture. Read more

Jeannette Catsoulis, NPR: 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 more

V.A. Musetto, New York Post: 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 more

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: There's whimsy and raunchy humor here, but also an underlying sense of darkness and despair. Read more

Rick Groen, Globe and Mail: Comedy doesn't get any more tragic than this. Read more

Jason Anderson, Toronto Star: The ultimate lesson of van Groeningen's boisterous and surprisingly moving film is that even a family as damaged as this one has a legacy worth heeding. Read more

Aaron Hillis, Time Out: Felix Van Groeningen's highly entertaining tale is full of hilarity, horror and heartbreak (sometimes within the same scene). Read more

Boyd van Hoeij, Variety: 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 more

Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post: An appalling childhood may risk making you an unhappy person when you grow up, but it almost guarantees a great yarn. Read more