37
Metascore
14 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 63Movie NationRoger MooreMovie NationRoger MooreFirst time feature writer-director Brian Shoaf stages some painfully awkward, sensitive and probing counseling sessions for Slate and Quinto to play. The script has lovely snatches of dialogue and fascinating, wounded characters.
- 60The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeThe Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeA filmmaking decision at the end of the film thumbs its nose at us, with the language of editing seeming to contradict the message of Shoaf's screenplay.
- 50Screen DailyDavid D'ArcyScreen DailyDavid D'ArcyBrian Shoaf does not break any new ground in Aardvark (besides featuring an actual aardvark in an independent film), yet his pairing of stalwart female characters with troubled men is a welcome twist of gender stereotypes.
- 50Washington PostMichael O'SullivanWashington PostMichael O'SullivanIt becomes clear that the situation is exactly as we imagine it to be, and that the sense of mystery that Shoaf has spent so much energy weaving is a red herring.
- 50Philadelphia Daily NewsGary ThompsonPhiladelphia Daily NewsGary ThompsonIn its last moments...Aardvark finds a groove.
- 45TheWrapDan CallahanTheWrapDan CallahanAardvark is the sort of movie that gets by with its unpredictable where-is-this-going vibe for about a half-hour or so.... But it becomes apparent at a certain point that the set-up is pretty much all there is to this movie.
- 40Los Angeles TimesGary GoldsteinLos Angeles TimesGary GoldsteinDespite a strong lead cast and good intentions, Aardvark is a drag. Writer-director Brian Shoaf may have much to say about family dysfunction and its emotional effects but never finds a persuasive enough way to mine this oft-tread territory.
- 30The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisThe New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisMr. Shoaf wastes an excellent cast (and one cute aardvark — you knew there’d be one) in a movie of astonishing vacancy.
- 25Slant MagazineKenji FujishimaSlant MagazineKenji FujishimaThe film adopts a half-hearted variation on A Beautiful Mind's gimmicky approach to grappling with a man's mental illness.
- 20Village VoiceKristen Yoonsoo KimVillage VoiceKristen Yoonsoo KimAardvark, the first feature from writer-director Brian Shoaf, is so inane that several times it put this critic into a fugue state. Meandering in message or plot, the film proves to be not just incoherent but excruciatingly boring, quite a feat with a cast that includes Jenny Slate, Jon Hamm, Sheila Vand, and, sure, Zachary Quinto.