How To Be (2008)

52% of users liked it
(3,838 ratings)

Officially an adult but locked into a perpetual phase of arrested development, an aimless twentysomething attempts to make sense of his go-nowhere life after being dumped by his girlfriend and forced to move back home with his parents. Art may still be far from mid-life, but no one can deny that… More Officially an adult but locked into a perpetual phase of arrested development, an aimless twentysomething attempts to make sense of his go-nowhere life after being dumped by his girlfriend and forced to move back home with his parents. Art may still be far from mid-life, but no one can deny that he's having a crisis. When his attempts at establishing himself as a sensitive singer/songwriter fail, Art dips into his inheritance money in order to experiment with a variety of new-age therapies and hire an eccentric self-help guru. Gradually, Art begins to make sense of the dysfunctional relationship he shares with his frustrated parents, and understand the unique role he plays in his small but close-knit social circle. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 25 min.
Directed By: Oliver Irving
Written By: Oliver Irving
Genres: Drama, Comedy

In Theaters: Jan 18, 2008 Wide
On DVD: Nov 17, 2009
Studio: How To Be Films

Critic Reviews

David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews
An astonishingly irrelevant piece of work...
Prairie Miller, NewsBlaze
A kind of problem child with whiskers bitten by love in this delayed coming of age family dyfunction outing, Pattinson impresses with his broad range, while doing daffy and despair at the same time.
Prairie Miller, NewsBlaze
A kind of problem child with whiskers bitten by love in this delayed coming of age family dyfunction outing, Pattinson impresses with his broad range, while doing daffy and despair at the same time.
Geoff Berkshire, Metromix.com
Fans who love 'RPattz' even more than Edward Cullen should be satisfied. They'll be the only ones.
Steve Rhodes, Internet Reviews
Filled with British humor so dry that it's down-right parched. (Still, if you're a big fan of Robert Pattinson, I suspect you won't be disappointed.)

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

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Featured Audience Ratings

Coxxie M

.................................................. thanks, redbox. coffee. gotta pick up more coffee................................................................................................................
Nicki M

Not bad. Heard mixed reviews on it - I didn't think it was awful, or fantastic. Full marks to Robert for doing something totally different than what he is typecast in by the Twilight movies. I don't think anyone would call him a pretty boy here, although obviously if you… More
Not bad. Heard mixed reviews on it - I didn't think it was awful, or fantastic. Full marks to Robert for doing something totally different than what he is typecast in by the Twilight movies. I don't think anyone would call him a pretty boy here, although obviously if you look past it all, he is good looking. Here he plays a depressed young boy who is going nowhere in life and has a horrible family. The film is reasonably short at 80 minutes and follows his journey out of the rut. It seems fairly low budget and quite likable once you get used to it (took me about 20 minutes to warm to it). Unusual characters, though possibly not for the average Twilight fan to enjoy.
Leigh R

So-so movie. Quirky characters and a guy with the lowest self-esteem trying to "learn" about life. Get on with it already.
Jake .

"How to Be" does every nessasary to be really good, the problem is that it really isn't. There are lots of things I liked about, but it just doesn't come together that well. The music and characters are off-color and fun, but the movie really drags. Its like for… More
"How to Be" does every nessasary to be really good, the problem is that it really isn't. There are lots of things I liked about, but it just doesn't come together that well. The music and characters are off-color and fun, but the movie really drags. Its like for every good thing that can possibly be said about it there is an equally valid insult to put along with it. I guess, the movie would have been much better if Pattinson's character could be sympasized with more. Hew seemed awfully whiny. I think just about everyone is potentially "more or less unhappy" if they think about their life in those terms. So, I guess I wouldn't say that "How to Be" is a bad movie, it enjoyable enough to watch, I just would never say that it is *good*.
Conner R

Really funny and unique. Robert Pattinson was great at playing a lovable loser, you can't help but feel for him. His priceless timing and delivery made the movie so much fun. The story is so bizarre, but dealt with in a very real way. It had a really nice feel to it and I loved… More
Really funny and unique. Robert Pattinson was great at playing a lovable loser, you can't help but feel for him. His priceless timing and delivery made the movie so much fun. The story is so bizarre, but dealt with in a very real way. It had a really nice feel to it and I loved the style.
♥˩ƳИИ &

It was reported that this film is a dark comedy.. i guess it falls under that category.. I found this film to be very awkward. I felt myself covering my eyes cause I was embarrassed for Robert Pattinsons character Arthur. The fact that his parents have him so messed up and believing… More
It was reported that this film is a dark comedy.. i guess it falls under that category.. I found this film to be very awkward. I felt myself covering my eyes cause I was embarrassed for Robert Pattinsons character Arthur. The fact that his parents have him so messed up and believing there is something wrong with him that he goes as far as to hiring an therapist to come stay with him and to try and fix him.. I felt so bad for the guy.. His parents are awful.. I would dread my life as well if those were my parents.. Its got some funny moments.. Some odd characters.. Its a film worth watching..
Jennifer D

Loved everything about this black comedy. Amazing.
m h

It was a very odd film. Not even the good kind of odd. To me, I felt like the filmmakers were trying to be odd and quirky. It just didn't work. I liked the second half better, the first half seemed....oh how should I put it? Poorly edited. They seemed to jump from one scene to… More
It was a very odd film. Not even the good kind of odd. To me, I felt like the filmmakers were trying to be odd and quirky. It just didn't work. I liked the second half better, the first half seemed....oh how should I put it? Poorly edited. They seemed to jump from one scene to the next without properly letting us know what's going. I don't know, that's what I got from this. The last thing from this movie that I didn't like was Robert Pattinson's hair. I know this isn't anything important to the plot, directing, acting or anything to do with the movie....but it's udder atrociousness of it was distracting to say the least. He does not suit that shaggy hairdo. Here's what I liked about the film. Mainly the music.I think it suited the movie well and complemented the scenes. In fact, I wouldn't mind buying or downloading it. I also liked Robert's acting in this. As much as I do like the Twilight series, I was pleased that his acting was different here. I am looking forward to more movies of his in the future. That being said (Or rather written) I honestly don't think this movie is worth your time. I'm sure die hard Rob fans will still want to see this. And they should be happy that he does a good job in this. There just is nothing much else going for it.
Leina R

No, I will not even attempt to deny that Rob was the reason why I wanted to see this film. However, he's not the only reason why I loved it. The Rob we see in Twilight, disappears in the role of Art, the frustrated artist going through a quarter-life crisis. He tries to find some… More
No, I will not even attempt to deny that Rob was the reason why I wanted to see this film. However, he's not the only reason why I loved it. The Rob we see in Twilight, disappears in the role of Art, the frustrated artist going through a quarter-life crisis. He tries to find some connection to his family and reasons as to why his life is what it is. The movie is filled with small, sweet and awkward moments that make you laugh out loud. This is an ensemble film in which you leave feeling sympathetic towards all characters because Art is not the only one feeling disconnected. Favorite scene: when Art tries to hug his mother. It is funny, awkward and sad all at once.