ChanBot i must have seen a different film!!

Bluebell Alcock Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies

Aiden Melton The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

Ginger Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

Thomas Begen For a moderate-length movie this one seemed really long. The drama is drawn- out, profoundly annoying, and dull, even supposing it's an accurate depiction of the time. While Liv Tyler's character, Pam, is particularly unbearable, Doug is the typical liberal Hollywood wussy-man putz who gets fixated on one girl -- not unlike Forest Gump -- and refuses to move on, perhaps owing to something more interesting than his low self-esteem and total social ineptitude; perhaps because his feelings for Pam remind him of a purer, innocent, idyllic time before everything in life became so complicated; but to me that's a cop-out. That's hardly a real-world love story if you ask me. Obviously Doug's character is such that the possibility of finding another girl out there who would accept him for who he is not even considered. He's not the sharpest tool in the shed. But I have to give Joaquin Phoenix respect for playing the part to a tee. Not even Tom Hanks can play the town idiot as well as Joaquin. That said, the film gets points for good acting from Joaquin Phoenix and for a somewhat realistic plot, even though the Holts and Abbotts simply cannot help "running into" one another all across the states at colleges, airports, and elsewhere. Go figure: these star-crossed lovers simply cannot avoid one another when "society" forbids their coupling. The bottom line, though, is the film is so unbearable to watch for its "love story," which is so sterile and pathetic that I cannot give it more than 5/10. It gets that many points only because even for the lack of realism of certain plot points, I believe it gives an overall realistic depiction of the rigid 1950s yes-man mentality.

SeriousJest This film masterfully illustrates how closely intertwined human lives are within and between families in a community. I ended up relating to these mid-20th-century White people from a small Midwestern town much more than I expected. There are some aspects of the human experience that are simply universal.All kinds of love are examined. Don't worry, it's not all romantic...this is a good date movie, but you will also enjoy this on your own.I was initially surprised at the casting choices. I've never seen Connelly play the wild, promiscuous role, or Phoenix act like such a shy, awkward geek. At first, I thought Tyler and Connelly should have switched parts. I thought the same about Phoenix and Billy Crudup. But I guess that's why these actors are so highly regarded; they all played their roles to the hilt, defying anyone who would typecast them. I have singled Connelly out before as a great example of an actress who brings the "girlfriend experience" to her films. This time, she gave us a glimpse of how that sweet, classy girlfriend can transform into a mind-blowing sex goddess behind closed doors...lucky Paul Bettany.For more reviews and a kick-ass podcast, check out www.livemancave.com

david-greene5 As a voracious film buff, it always surprises me when a great film is released and totally escapes my notice, sometimes for years! I recently viewed "Inventing the Abbotts" on a TV pay channel. I was so astounded by the emotional power of the film that I went to my Leonard Maltin guide, curious to see what the reviewer there had to say about it. I was astounded to find that he had pretty much dismissed the whole thing as flaccid and disappointing. I could not help but disagree, most emphatically. Maybe it is all a matter of taste, but I loved the performances by all of the principal players. The cinematography and production design are terrific. I felt that the director had crafted a constantly engrossing, moving film. The script, which Maltin's reviewer called "dull", struck me as having a fine ear for strong dialogue, all of which seemed very natural and effective to me. There is so much that is poignant and insightful and deeply touching in this entire piece that I would say that anyone who favors dramas with powerful romantic elements and thoughtful examination of the forces at work in society should make every effort to see this film. I do not know why it did not attract more notice when it first came out.

Amanda Morrison Alright. I remembered seeing this movie years ago, when it was first released to video, and I liked it. Now, upon re-watching it for the first time since that fateful day ten years ago, I see why. Because I was a pervert. Clearly, I didn't enjoy this movie for its sweet message or its fine actors. Ugh.Let me gripe from the beginning.Alright, so first we're introduced to actors that are far too old to be playing their characters. That's fine, though -- I grew up watching Saved by the Bell -- I can deal with that. Then, as we get to know the characters a little better, we realize that, well, we really haven't gotten to know the characters at all. Other than Doug drawing breasts on a picture in school (that's how we find out that he's a "rebel) and Pam saying that each sister is the good, the bad, or the one who gets away with everything, we get nothing. There is literally NO character development. At times, it seems like the director might have tried...then no, by the end, you just find yourself angry because you invested two and a half (or whatever) hours into a movie about people, and you do not care in the slightest about any of the people.But what about their acting you say? Well, that was just as terrible as the trite and obvious dialogue they were forced to spew. It's amazing when you see brilliant actors in earlier roles when they are give almost nothing to work with. Joaquin Phoenix is perhaps the most surprisingly horrid. Liv Tyler is cute -- when isn't she -- but she has nothing to work with, and to be honest, her acting was far from perfected (has it ever been, though?) She plays this innocent rich girl to a tee, but she still doesn't give us much of a reason to like her. And why does she like Phoenix's character Doug? Because of that rebellious drawing? Geesh. Give us some credit here.Billy Crudup and Jennifer Connelly were good, I can't complain about their acting. But, Jennifer Connelly disappears after the first twenty minutes, in a ridiculous scene, with a ridiculous reason.I could go on for hours. The "secret" behind the Abbotts and the death of the boys' father is pathetic. The attempt at sympathy for Lloyd Abbott falls flat. Maybe it wasn't intentional. Actually, I hope it wasn't.Inventing the Abbotts keeps the viewer guessing what's going to happen from the get-go. It might be a Romeo and Juliet story, it might be a romantic coming-of-age, as the synopsis suggests. Unfortunately though, it actually turns out to be such thrown-together non-sense that the viewer wishes that their idea had been what happened. Instead, they're left with a characters they don't care about doing things they don't care about, and offended sense of romanticism and a bad taste lingering in their mouths.