Wish I Was Here 2014

Kyle Smith, New York Post: If this movie amounts to an elongated sitcom, it's a pretty good sitcom. Read more

Rex Reed, New York Observer: Wish I Was Here ... made me wish I was anywhere else. Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: An uneven, sometimes charming, sometimes amateurish exploration of a particular time in a still-young man's life. Read more

Scott Foundas, Variety: Zach Braff tries - and fails - for a thirtysomething 'Garden State' redux in Kickstarter-funded sophomore effort. Read more

A.A. Dowd, AV Club: The major problem here is that Braff seems completely incapable of distinguishing between pathos and bathos. Read more

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: Braff struggles with shifting tones while mismanaging his own character. It's easier to appreciate the effort than it is to enjoy the film. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: Sophomore slumps don't come any more irritating than "Wish I Was Here," the painfully sincere, emotionally fraudulent new comedy-drama from actor-writer-director Zach Braff. Read more

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader: The earlier, comedic scenes work a lot better than the later, dramatic ones, thanks mainly to Braff's wide-eyed, deadpan performance and good supporting work from Kate Hudson. Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: Watery at best, whiny at its worst ... Read more

Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor: Braff plays Aidan with easygoing exasperation and Hudson is better than I've seen her since Almost Famous. Read more

Sean Fitz-Gerald, Denver Post: The fruits of writer-director Zach Braff's Kickstarter are here for the general public, and they're at once vibrantly weird, beautiful and thoughtful. Read more

Adam Graham, Detroit News: "Wish I Was Here" sets up some big moments but doesn't follow through on them, emotionally or otherwise. Like its title implies, it's absent at its own party. Read more

Jason Clark, Entertainment Weekly: Braff's wholehearted embrace of weepie cliches - deathbed confessionals pop up as often as the indie tunes - clashes with the movie's more side-eyed and profane observations. Read more

William Goss, Film.com: ...laden with enough truth to make you wish it had been better, more restrained, more disciplined, more trusting in its own emotional sensitivity to spare us all manner of dorky detours. Read more

Boyd van Hoeij, Hollywood Reporter: [A] funny and emotionally satisfying tale of thirtysomethings trying to come to terms with life itself ... Read more

Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times: For a film that purports to be about the process of maturity and growth, it is woefully un-evolved, lacking in understanding and insight. Read more

Connie Ogle, Miami Herald: If I were one of the generous and optimistic contributors to Zach Braff's Kickstarter campaign to fund Wish I Was Here, I'd ask for my money back. All of it. Read more

John Anderson, Newsday: What's it about? Everything and nothing. Seriously: If wishes were horses, one would have walked into the movie and told us what exactly Braff thought was going on. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: "Wish I Was Here" is a welcome, if belated, second chapter in a filmmaker's career. I just hope we don't have to wait another 10 years to see what he thinks about life as a forty-something ... Read more

Ian Buckwalter, NPR: Wish I Was Here's philosophical scope never gets much bigger than the slip of paper inside a fortune cookie. Read more

Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: Braff tries to cram so much into it, no scene ever exists for its own sake, to establish rhythm or help us know these characters outside of the ongoing family crises. Read more

Stephen Holden, New York Times: Throughout "Wish I Was Here," you are aware of how carefully its elements - from fantasy sci-fi sequences to deathbed confessions - are measured out in teaspoons. Read more

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: I wish Wish I Was Here made me care more about this guy's woes, but there's a patness to the weepy scenarios. To the funny ones, too. Read more

Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com: It is sometimes maudlin, sometimes trivial and sometimes very moving, but never less than achingly sincere. Read more

G. Allen Johnson, San Francisco Chronicle: Wish I Was Here is a funny, touching movie that features one of Kate Hudson's best performances and a curmudgeonly good one from Mandy Patinkin. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: There's a valid comedy-drama in the story of a man who can't tell if his lifelong ambition is a true passion or a pipe dream, but Braff prefers facile life lessons and slow-motion hugging to tough questions. Read more

Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: For audiences seeking shelter from superhero carnage, "Wish I Was Here" is a lovely place to be. Read more

Linda Barnard, Toronto Star: Disjointed and uneven, seeming at times like the Kickstarter gang got to contribute one idea each in exchange for their donations, all of which were greenlit by Braff - with the proviso they all be about him. Read more

Joshua Rothkopf, Time Out: Some will find the director's toothless brand of epiphany comforting (and download his mixtape), but the vast majority will find it tired. Read more

Scott Bowles, USA Today: A heartfelt if heavy-handed sermon about chasing dreams, forgiving sins and honoring Woody Allen. Read more

Stephanie Zacharek, Village Voice: Wish I Was Here is at least stretching toward something, and even if its reach exceeds its grasp, Braff's earnest determination as a filmmaker and performer helps smooth out some of the awkward bumps. Read more

Bilge Ebiri, New York Magazine/Vulture: Wish I Was Here, not unlike its predecessor Garden State, captures a certain generational drift. It just doesn't know what to do with it. So it beats the damned thing into the ground until it's dead. Read more

Stephanie Merry, Washington Post: Whether you're among the 46,520 Kickstarter contributors or an avowed member of the anti-Braff brigade, you may just find yourself trying to stifle a sniffle. Read more