54
Metascore
12 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 70VarietyJoe LeydonVarietyJoe LeydonAffecting performances and effective storytelling are the hallmarks of Fat Kid Rules the World.
- 70Village VoiceVillage VoiceThe film succeeds thanks to Lillard's clear affection for the material and on the strength of its performances, especially Billy Campbell as Troy's conflicted father.
- 63Slant MagazineGlenn Heath Jr.Slant MagazineGlenn Heath Jr.People matter in Matthew Lillard's film; genre not so much.
- 60The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeThe Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeA commendably restrained loser-turns-winner tale offering an unexpected second showcase for Terri star Jacob Wysocki, Matthew Lillard's Fat Kid Rules the World is less colorful than its grandeur-deluded title suggests.
- This adaptation of K. L. Going's 2003 young-adult novel about a rejuvenated overweight teenager takes a humble, heartfelt approach, until sentiment loses out to message sending.
- Endearingly uneven.
- 50San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleSan Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleThe movie is achingly slow, and by the time it's over, the story is about where it should have been after about 45 minutes. Then it ends just as it gets good, or as it's starting to.
- 40New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierNew York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierThis is an odd little directorial debut from Matthew Lillard - the onetime Shaggy from "Scooby-Doo," now a solid character actor thanks to "The Descendants" and "Trouble with the Curve" - but it has its rewards.
- 25New York PostKyle SmithNew York PostKyle SmithDirected by journeyman actor Matthew Lillard, this tame and by-the-numbers effort never succeeds in making the outcast situation cinematic or interesting.