Momma’s Man (2008)
90%RT Audience Score: 85%
Awards & Nominations: 3 wins & 3 nominations
Moody yet touching, Momma’s Man successfully illustrates with elegant simplicity the struggles of a man consumed with his adolescence.
Momma’s Man is a film that will make you laugh, cry, and feel all the feels. It’s a quirky and charming indie movie that tells the story of a man who just can’t seem to leave his childhood home. The awkward pauses and moments of self-examination give it a rich texture, and the acting is extraordinary. It’s a lovely work, sad and funny, and definitely worth a watch. Plus, who doesn’t love a good melancomedy?
Production Company(ies)
Paramount Pictures,
Distributor
NA
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Chambers Street, New York City, New York, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Not Rated
Year of Release
2009
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Digital
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:NA
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Streaming): May 5, 2009
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Matt Boren, Ken Jacobs, Flo Jacobs, Dana Varon, Richard Edson, Piero Arcilesi, directed by Azazel Jacobs, written by Azazel Jacobs, drama, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Ben Kenigsberg, Rob Nelson, J.R Jones, Edward Porter, David Jenkins, Wendy Ide, Robert Koehler, Ian Buckwalter, Philip French, Nicholas Barber, Jon Fortgang, Kevin Harley, producer Hunter Gray, Alex Orlovsky, MPAA rating, adolescence, nostalgia, family, coming of age, New York City, Los Angeles, business meeting, safety of childhood, leaving childhood, low-fi, American independent film, minimalist approach, extraordinary sensitivity, thirtysomething men, eccentric family, anxiety, struggles, adulthood, touching, moody, elegant simplicity, critic reviews, audience score, Tomatometer, streaming, rent/buy, runtime, cast and crew, photos, original language, release date
Worldwide gross: $123,385
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $170,532
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,957
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 18,597
US/Canada gross: $100,435
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $138,812
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,606
US/Canada opening weekend: $11,072
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $15,303
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,595
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Ken Jacobs – Dad
Flo Jacobs – Mom
Dana Varon – Laura
Richard Edson – Tom
Piero Arcilesi – Dante
Director(s)
Azazel Jacobs
Writer(s)
Azazel Jacobs
Producer(s)
Hunter Gray, Alex Orlovsky
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
3 wins & 3 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (46) | Top Critics (26) | Fresh (42) | Rotten (4)
November 17, 2011 | Rating: 4/5
Ben Kenigsberg
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
Jacobs’s low-fi third feature forges unique stylistic territory for the American independent film.
August 24, 2009
Rob Nelson
indieWire
TOP CRITIC
This simple but assured indie drama about the safety of childhood and the necessity of leaving it is particularly affecting because writer-director Azazel Jacobs draws so heavily on his own life.
May 29, 2009
J. R. Jones
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
The film is decidedly low-key. As such movies go, it’s enjoyable, though you might find yourself wishing Mikey would just pull himself together.
May 13, 2009 | Rating: 3/5
Edward Porter
Times (UK)
TOP CRITIC
Awkward pauses and gestures and moments of self-examination give it a rich texture. It’s a lovely work, sad and funny. A melancomedy, if you will.
May 8, 2009 | Rating: 5/6
David Jenkins
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
Slyly funny and genuinely original, Momma’s Man represents that rarest of things, a truly independent American movie.
May 8, 2009 | Rating: 4/5
Wendy Ide
Times (UK)
TOP CRITIC
Momma’s Man is not a document of an artist making a film as an exorcism, but a memoir of recent things past, when the act of doing away with childish matters was confronted and done.
October 2, 2017
Robert Koehler
Cinema Scope
Jacobs’ minimalist approach demands acting of extraordinary sensitivity, which he gets from his cast, particularly from Matt Boren in the lead role.
June 12, 2010 | Rating: 9.2/10
Ian Buckwalter
DCist
This is one of the most tiresome recent examples of American independent cinema.
May 13, 2009
Philip French
Observer (UK)
It’s a quiet film, with its own measured pace, but it has more painfully astute observations than most comedies with 10 times the budget.
May 13, 2009
Nicholas Barber
Independent on Sunday
Azazel Jacobs’ film is an enjoyably idiosyncratic tribute to his own eccentric family, and it adopts a fascinatingly novel approach to the strange anxieties of thirtysomething men.
May 8, 2009 | Rating: 3.5/5
Jon Fortgang
Film4
Azazel Jacobs’ lo-fi indie comedy unfolds slowly but with patient precision.
May 8, 2009 | Rating: 4/5
Kevin Harley
Total Film…
Plot
Mikey visits his parents in their downtown loft and becomes overwhelmed with nostalgia for his adolescence, leading him to stay longer than planned and struggle with his fears of adulthood in Momma’s Man.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
The film Momma’s Man stars Matt Boren, Ken Jacobs, Flo Jacobs, Dana Varon, Richard Edson, and Piero Arcilesi.
Azazel-Jacobs.jpg
