Implausibilities mount, and by the last act Lerner appears to have lost any compunction he might have had about using his protagonist to tug the audience's heartstrings.
– Benjamin Mercer,
Village Voice,
12 Jul 2011
rotten:
Doesn't miss many cliches of small-town, working-class, going-nowhere life.
– Mike Hale,
New York Times,
14 Jul 2011
rotten:
Emotionally manipulative and problematic...
– Lou Lumenick,
New York Post,
15 Jul 2011
fresh:
A modest, uneven example of regional American independent film. But it has tremendous heart and integrity...
– Andrew O'Hehir,
Salon.com,
17 Jul 2011
rotten:
What begins as an absorbing exercise in glum atmosphere turns mild, meek, and desperate as the stakes rise.