A Real Pain

Honestly I don't get at all the positive reviews on this movie. Truely terrible film. The Culkin character supposedly is this charming person, but he's just annoying and unlikable. Yet people think he's charming in the film, makes zero sense. Also nothing happens the whole movie. If this didn't have the name actors it did it would have won nothing and honestly it seems like anything regarding the Holocaust does well in awards even if the movie isn't very good. Wild that mediocre movies like this get made and somehow get an award. I don't know what these critics are smoking.

This was an absolute joy to watch! Sensitive and sweet . . . like the music on the soundtrack.

A great screenplay full of things we can all relate to at one point or another in our lives. Kieran Culkin has become an expert at being annoying characters with some humanity behind them.

Intrinsically rich, this film shows the nature of remembering the Holocaust as a life others suffered; here we are living a life that could have been buried back in Poland. Forever grateful to be able to be uncomfortable and even more to be un-okay.

This movie was terrible

Just a mediocre attempt at dark comedy without punchlines and wittiness. A real bummer to watch. Culkin can do much better, Jesse cannot.

A Real Pain is a film that, while sprinkled with moments of humour, ultimately struggles to engage a wider audience. The premise—two cousins embarking on a journey through Poland, confronting family history and intergenerational trauma—has the potential for depth and poignancy. However, the execution lacks universal appeal, making it a niche film that will likely resonate only with those who have a strong connection to Poland or the Holocaust. While the film may have its emotional beats and cultural significance, for the general audience, it feels slow, meandering, and frankly, boring. The humour, though present, is too sparse to sustain interest, and the film’s pacing does little to keep viewers engaged. The most baffling aspect is its 96% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes. This rating reinforces the growing sentiment that critics and audiences are increasingly disconnected. How this film has achieved such overwhelming critical praise is beyond comprehension, as it clearly does not appeal to mainstream viewers. Rotten Tomatoes must address this widening gap, or risk becoming an insular platform used only by critics and journalists, while losing credibility with the general filmgoing public. A Real Pain may have its merits for those with specific cultural ties, but for most, it fails to entertain or engage. Critics may adore it, but the wider audience is left unimpressed.

Boring with an uneventful ending.

Decent and watchable, but not more. It's movie you want to like but are rather bored with most of the time. And that is because it isn't a comedy, and it's neither a true drama. There just isn't that much... moving at all in this movie. It's like a decent still life - problem is, even very good still lives aren't that interesting.

This film about two cousins who travel to Poland to learn more about their grandmother's past and see the house she grew up in has some spectacular acting. The two cousins have very different personalities but a close relationship and the way they play off each other is what provides most of the dramatic tension in the film. One is a boring success while the other is a troubled lost soul and this provides the envy and the admiration that appears to be mutual. The background characters of the tour group of people making a similar trip to Poland provide more possibilities for their interactions. This is a small scale film with deep emotions, brilliant performances, and profound psychological insights.