Linoleum (2023)
91%RT Audience Score: 91%
Awards & Nominations: NA
Linoleum, the sophomore feature from writer-director Colin West, is a film that defies easy categorization. Mixing elements of domestic drama, science fiction, and comedy, it’s a movie that keeps you guessing until the very end. Jim Gaffigan delivers a fantastic performance as the film’s lead, anchoring the story’s flights of fantasy with a compelling portrayal of a man in the midst of a mid-life crisis. While the film may risk losing some viewers with its coy early scenes, it more than repays our patience with its intriguingly offbeat vibe. Overall, Linoleum is a smart, entertaining, and thought-provoking film that will leave you wanting to discuss it with others.
Linoleum is a movie that starts off slow, but don’t let that fool you. It’s like a rollercoaster that takes a while to climb to the top, but once it drops, you’re in for a wild ride. Jim Gaffigan’s performance is surprisingly dramatic and impressive, and the sci-fi elements add a unique twist to the domestic drama. While it may not be perfect, it’s definitely worth sticking around for the payoff. Plus, it’s the perfect movie to watch if you want to feel both nostalgic and sanguine.
Production Company(ies)
VOD
Distributor
SHOUT! STUDIOS
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
Kingston, New York, United States
MPAA / Certificate
NR
Year of Release
2023
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:NA
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Runtime:1h 38m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Feb 24, 2023 Limited
Genre(s)
Comedy/Drama
Keyword(s)
Comedy, Drama, Sci-fi, Jim Gaffigan, Rhea Seehorn, Katelyn Nacon, Gabriel Rush, Michael Ian Black, Tony Shalhoub, Colin West, Chad Simpson, Dennis Masel, Chadd Harbold, written by Colin West, directed by Colin West, produced by Chad Simpson, reviewed by Kimber Myers, Christy Lemire, Noel Murray, Joe Leydon, Kyle Smith, Jeannette Catsoulis, Dennis Harvey, Travis DeShong, Russ Simmons, Nigel Watson, Robin Clifford, box office gross, budget, MPAA rating, midlife crisis, astronaut, children’s TV show, science, space-race, satellite, doppelgänger, surreal events, family drama, indie film, calling card, flights of fantasy, patient viewers, ambiguity, cinematic parlor trick, mysteries, comedic actor, dramatic role, science fiction elements, domestic drama, unexpected friendship, relationship strain, life story
Worldwide gross: NA
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): NA
US/Canada gross: NA
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $5,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $5,000,000
Production budget ranking: 1,817
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $2,692,500
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Rhea Seehorn – Erin Edwin
Katelyn Nacon – Nora Edwin
Gabriel Rush – Marc
Michael Ian Black – Tony
Tony Shalhoub – Dr. Alvin
Director – Colin West
Producers – Chad Simpson, Dennis Masel, Chadd Harbold
Writer – Colin West
Director(s)
Colin West
Writer(s)
Colin West
Producer(s)
Chad Simpson, Dennis Masel, Chadd Harbold
Film Festivals
South by Southwest
Awards & Nominations
NA
Academy Awards
All Critics (63) | Top Critics (12) | Fresh (51) | Rotten (12)
With his second feature, writer-director Colin West has made the type of movie that you want to encourage people to see, not only for how good it is, but so that you have someone to talk about it with, with no danger of spoiling its surprises.
March 4, 2023 | Rating: A-
Kimber Myers
Crooked Marquee
TOP CRITIC
A fantastic performance from Jim Gaffigan. I really like this streak he’s on of playing unexpectedly dramatic roles.
March 3, 2023
Christy Lemire
FilmWeek (KPCC – NPR Los Angeles)
TOP CRITIC
A minor-key domestic drama gradually transformed into something grander by its science-fiction elements.
February 24, 2023
Noel Murray
Los Angeles Times
TOP CRITIC
Jim Gaffigan’s compelling lead performance anchors Colin West’s free-wheeling indie without impeding its flights of fantasy.
February 24, 2023
Joe Leydon
Variety
TOP CRITIC
The mixture of forms isn’t quite successful, but Linoleum serves as an impressive calling card for its writer-director, Colin West, a relative newcomer.
February 24, 2023
Kyle Smith
Wall Street Journal
TOP CRITIC
So determinedly coy in its early scenes that it risks losing the audience before the midway point. It’s well worth sticking around, though, as this sci-fi-flavored family drama more than repays our patience.
February 23, 2023
Jeannette Catsoulis
New York Times
TOP CRITIC
Mixing the seemingly sweet with the dyspeptically sour—albeit more in a Donnie Darko kinda way, minus the vague undercurrent of horror—is Colin West’s sophomore feature, an intriguingly offbeat seriocomedy on the edge of fantasy…
March 15, 2023
Dennis Harvey
48 Hills
[Linoleum] jettisons the ruminative self-seriousness a more prestige-inflected drama might opt for, instead preferring a snug, pleasantly offbeat vibe that’s equally nostalgic and sanguine.
March 6, 2023
Travis DeShong
In Review Online
“Linoleum” may appeal to patient viewers who appreciate ambiguity.
March 3, 2023 | Rating: 3/5
Russ Simmons
KKFI-FM (Kansas City)
Colin West gives us a mid-town, mid-life crisis movie that aspires to the profundity of 2001: A Space Odyssey but like Cameron’s rocket, it doesn’t quite reach those cinematic heights.
March 1, 2023 | Rating: 3/5
Nigel Watson
Starburst
I, personally, found that the story gets too wrapped up in itself and takes some stumbles. But, it is an intelligent story that does not talk down to us, entertains and makes you think.
March 1, 2023 | Rating: B-
Robin Clifford
Reeling Reviews
While in the end it’s really nothing more than a cinematic parlor trick, for the most part it’s an intriguing one, even if a completely satisfactory resolution to its myriad mysteries proves elusive.
March 1, 2023 | Rating: B
Frank Swietek
One Guy’s Opinion…
Plot
Cameron Edwin, the host of a failing children’s science TV show called “Above & Beyond,” has always had aspirations of being an astronaut. After a mysterious space-race era satellite coincidentally falls from space and lands in his backyard, his midlife crisis manifests in a plan to rebuild the machine into his dream rocket. As his relationship with his wife and daughter start to strain, surreal events begin unfolding around him — a doppelgänger moving into the house next door, a car falling from the sky, and an unusual teenage boy forging a friendship with him. He slowly starts to piece these events together to ultimately reveal that there’s more to his life story than he once thought.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Jim Gaffigan stars in Linoleum (2022) as Cameron Edwin, a struggling children’s TV host and scientist who dreams of going to space.
Colin-West.jpg
