Critic Reviews

• Walter V. Addiego, San Francisco Chronicle

  A lot of what takes place in "Roadie" feels overly familiar, and the film could have been a wallow in pathos except for the performances, especially that of Eldard.

• Rafer Guzman, Newsday

  The hugely sympathetic Eldard ("Super 8") gives this slim movie a real, beating heart.

• Glenn Kenny, MSN Movies

  While the excellent cast does its level, honest best with the material, the material itself feels secondhand throughout.

• Kyle Smith, New York Post

  "Roadie" is short on narrative momentum, but it's a perfectly attuned character study of this rock relic and his middle-aged sorrows.

• Alonso Duralde, The Wrap

  Roadie has the stench of freshman-year mandatory creative writing all over it, from its cribs of Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller to an ending that's embarrassingly, clangingly metaphorical.

• Manohla Dargis, New York Times

  Mr. Eldard, who brings layers of complication to his character, makes Jimmy's vulnerability palpable, while Ms. Hennessy shows you her character's carelessness and opportunism.

• Dave White, Movies.com

  Eldard makes you feel for this broken-down rock and roll creep. That feeling might be that he needs a good slap in the face, but Eldard doesn't want to be loved here and he doesn't flinch in the process.

• Tony Macklin, tonymacklin.net

  It's rare that an acting performance can carry a movie, but Ron Eldard gets a lot more out of his role than was on the page. Eldard invests his character with palpable vulnerability.

• Todd Jorgenson, Cinemalogue.com

  Provides a touching look at a man whose life is in a period of transition.

• Grae Drake, Movies.com

  Imagine The Wrestler if Mickey Rourke had just wrangled spandex instead of earning his status as a has-been. This is why this movie never feels completely original or moving.

• Brian Orndorf, BrianOrndorf.com

  An appealing mood of discomfort that's marvelously executed by the cast, hitting a few persuasive beats of disappointment and resignation that keeps the story grounded in an intriguing, lived-in reality.

• Kurt Loder, Reason Online

  Ron Eldard gives a sweet, moving performance as a 40-ish guy suddenly un-tethered in time.

• Alison Willmore, AV Club

  Aside from the entertaining specificity about its setting and its protagonist's profession, Roadie is as disappointingly rote as its standard setup suggests.

• Doris Toumarkine, Film Journal International

  Terrific contemporary drama about a veteran Queens, New York roadie who's been sacked after decades hauling equipment for Blue Oyster Cult is a gripping portrait of a flawed loser that allows Ron Eldard to shine

• Mark Sells, The Reel Deal

  Shows the unglamorous side of rock n' roll - the lies and denial, the sadness, and the regret of dreams long gone.

• Nick Schager, Slant Magazine

  Roadie takes its characters' suffering seriously without ever properly justifying said misery as enlightening or unique.

Read all 16 critic reviews