Sonny (2002)

23% of critics liked it
(26 reviews)
40% of users liked it
(5,532 ratings)

Film superstar Nicolas Cage's directing debut, Sonny follows a very unconventional family as they struggle to overcome personal and financial adversity. Young Sonny (James Franco) returns home to New Orleans from Army service to find his mother Jewel (Brenda Blethyn), a prostitute, in dire financial… More Film superstar Nicolas Cage's directing debut, Sonny follows a very unconventional family as they struggle to overcome personal and financial adversity. Young Sonny (James Franco) returns home to New Orleans from Army service to find his mother Jewel (Brenda Blethyn), a prostitute, in dire financial straits due to her marketability decreasing exponentially as her age increases. Jewel takes heart at her son's return, however, as she had raised him to be a male prostitute and his mid-'20s vitality should be able to provide a much-needed boost to her family's income -- which until now has primarily been based on Jewel's boyfriend Henry's (Harry Dean Stanton) small-time thievery, as well as the income generated by Jewel's new recruit, Carol (Mena Suvari). Sonny initially scoffs at the thought, having been offered a chance for a legitimate job from his Army buddy (Scott Caan), but when that possibility falls through, Sonny finds he has no choice but to work for his mother. ~ Ryan Shriver, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 50 min.
Directed By: Nicolas Cage
Written By: John Carlen
Genres: Drama, Television

In Theaters: Oct 26, 2002 Wide
On DVD: Aug 19, 2003
Studio: Samuel Goldwyn Films

Critic Reviews

Jan Stuart, Newsday
Actors generally make good actor's directors, but Sonny is a mixed bag in that department.
Lou Lumenick, New York Post
An instant candidate for worst movie of the year.
A.O. Scott, New York Times
Earnest and tentative even when it aims to shock.
Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times
It is as uncompromising as it is nonjudgmental, and makes clear that a prostitute can be as lonely and needy as any of the clients.
Michael Atkinson, Village Voice
Amid the cliché and foreshadowing, Cage manages a degree of casual realism ... that is routinely dynamited by Blethyn.
Kirk Honeycutt, Hollywood Reporter
The story is bogus and its characters tissue-thin.
Cole Smithey, ColeSmithey.com
This overlooked drama by Nic Cage packs an emotional wallop.
Christopher Null, Filmcritic.com
Back to the housewives with ya, and now that Cage has the vanity project out of his system, he can go back to making more movies with Spike Jonze.
Glenn Kenny, Premiere Magazine
Too defensive and earnest about its topic to be either fun or illuminating.
MaryAnn Johanson, Flick Filosopher
Sunk by way too much indulgence of scene-chewing, teeth-gnashing actorliness.
Ken Fox, TV Guide's Movie Guide
It's just plain lurid when it isn't downright silly.
Bob Strauss, Los Angeles Daily News
Enchanted with low-life tragedy and liberally seasoned with emotional outbursts ... What is sorely missing, however, is the edge of wild, lunatic invention that we associate with Cage's best acting.
Brent Simon, Entertainment Today
There's too much forced drama in this wildly uneven movie, about a young man's battle with his inescapable past and uncertain future in a very shapable but largely unfulfilling present.
Emily Blunt, Blunt Review
Author John Carlen has abstrusely captured that struggle of one man simply trying to be human in nonhuman, vile, circumstances.
, E! Online
Keep your day job, Nicolas Cage. This shockingly inept directorial debut reveals the brooding actor to be a hackneyed helmer.
Michael Agger, Slate
Nicolas Cage isn't the first actor to lead a group of talented friends astray, and this movie won't create a ruffle in what is already an erratic career.
Carlo Cavagna, AboutFilm.com
Franco is an excellent choice for the walled-off but combustible hustler, but he does not give the transcendent performance SONNY needs to overcome gaps in character development and story logic.
Ernest Hardy, L.A. Weekly
Preposterous and tedious, Sonny is spiked with unintentional laughter that, unfortunately, occurs too infrequently to make the film even a guilty pleasure.
Bruce Feld, Film Journal International
John Carlen's script is full of unhappy, two-dimensional characters who are anything but compelling.

Read all 19 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Mike T

Uneven, seemingly indecisive direction from Nicolas Cage leads this potentially affecting film astray. As it stands, it is mildly interesting. The best aspect of it is James Franco, who gives solid evidence of his considerable abilities as an actor.
Sunil J

I hated this movie. I wasn't interested in anything that happened.