Director David Frankel has crafted a sweet, funny, heartfelt film, and while we may know all along how it all turns out, Paul's signature performance still gives us chills.
The movie is strongest is when it strips away the facts and focuses on the emotional notes.
60
Empire
Empire
A fluffy but fun telling of a rags to riches story.
60
Time Out LondonCath Clarke
Time Out LondonCath Clarke
The problem with the film is that Potts’s life story has been put through the Hollywood meatgrinder. Awkward details have been changed or erased – they’ve made Potts Welsh (he grew up in Bristol) and eliminated his siblings.
50
The DissolveMike D'Angelo
The DissolveMike D'Angelo
The film fictionalizes his life story so aggressively that it’s no less (or more) entertaining than the average rom-com.
50
Village VoiceChris Packham
Village VoiceChris Packham
The film shoehorns Potts's life story into a familiar underdog template, populating the world with near-mythological threshold guardians who exist to assure the hero that he isn't good enough.
For all the solid efforts of the cast, it’s still one of those biopics with a totally canned story arc and as many head-slapping moments as intentional laughs.