49
Metascore
21 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 75ReelViewsJames BerardinelliReelViewsJames BerardinelliInventing the Abbotts has the cast and characters to be something special; the script just isn't ambitious enough.
- 75Rolling StonePeter TraversRolling StonePeter TraversThe film belongs to Phoenix ("To Die For"), who is terrific. He has the gift, shared with his late brother, River, of conveying emotions without pushing them at you. The delicacy of his scenes with Tyler lets you enjoy the film for what it truly is: a heartbreaker.
- 70Chicago ReaderJonathan RosenbaumChicago ReaderJonathan RosenbaumApart from the script, it's the actors who make this a film worth seeing; all of them look and sometimes even act like real people rather than types or icons, and behind their interactions can be felt the depths of lived experience.
- 60The New RepublicStanley KauffmannThe New RepublicStanley KauffmannAll the actors caught me up so warmly that I stopped feeling guilty about liking this corny picture. [28 April 1997, p.30]
- 60The New York TimesJanet MaslinThe New York TimesJanet MaslinBest watched as a showcase for radiant young talent.
- 50Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertThe picture is haunted by a story problem: It isn't about anything but itself. There's no sense of life going on in the corners of the frame.
- 50The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick GroenThe Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick GroenThis thing can take pride of place in a long tradition of Hollywood howlers.
- 50San Francisco ChroniclePeter StackSan Francisco ChroniclePeter StackAn awkward script, a mannered style and the selection of hill-and-dale Petaluma as a stand-in for an Illinois small town all undermine the film.
- 40Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenAustin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenTold from younger brother Doug's point of view, Phoenix's voiceover spans the length of the film and winds up making the images that unfold practically redundant.
- 20TimeRichard SchickelTimeRichard SchickelThe goofy hysteria of something like "A Summer Place" was infinitely more entertaining and emotionally authentic than the distant smugness of this failed clone. [7 April 1997, p. 76]