User reviews

A nice to surprise to find this. Well-crafted, a really original story (worth points just for that), with one of the best casts you could ask for.

I'll watch anything with Catherine O'Hara. I could say the same thing about Amy Poehler, or Adam Scott. Or Jane Lynch. And here they are, all in the same picture, along with the always, always reliable Richard Jenkins.

I'm also surprised to find how polarizing this movie is. People seem to ether hate it or love it. I can't quite understand the haters, except that maybe they wanted something more obvious. I wouldn't call this movie subtle, but it's perhaps a little too worldly and knowing for some. Not for me. I loved it.

"Them together is bad for everyone, especially me." Carter (Scott) has settled into his life as an Adult Child Of Divorce. He has a girlfriend he likes and a restaurant he owns. When his brother Trey (Duke) informs him of his engagement things begin to fall apart for Carter. First he has to try and get his parents to talk to each other so the wedding won't be ruined. Then he must keep them from getting back together for his sake. Going in with that cast I was expecting a hilarious comedy that I would be laughing at the whole time. While this was a good movie and I did like it it wasn't nearly as funny as I was expecting. There are some funny parts in this but it wasn't the laugh riot I was expecting. This is more about the selfishness of one person and how he messes with everyone's life to make him more comfortable. There is some very funny moments in this but hard to make that plot hilarious. Again though this is a good movie and worth seeing but do not expect the laugh-out-loud comedy I did. Overall, good and worth seeing but not super funny. I give it a B.

So first of all, it stands for Adult Child of Divorce and its the main reason no-one heard of this one. It sounds like a disorder, and people go see comedies that seem like a good time, not a lot of work.

Adam Scott's little bro wants to get married, and its his job to try and get his warring divorced parents to be in the same room together.

Jane Lynch, Mary Elisabeth Winstead, Amy Poehler, Katherine O'Hara and Richard Jenkins are all great. Funny likable cast, terrific situation comedy, its only about 20 minutes too long. Truly the only reason this got buried was that terrible unwieldy title.

6/10 outwore its welcome by the end, but still, underrated.

I liked the movie, I think I would have liked it better if I hadn't understood it so well. And yes people, some of our parents did behave this way. The fighting in public, ruining weddings, burnt pictures...the list goes on. I think I didn't care for it as much as I could have because Carter, gets crapped on. He is the victim. The parents are selfish a-holes. But if you can't laugh at your misfortune, you just have misfortune. Accurate picture of a dysfunctional divorced family, obviously not all families are like this. Loved all the actors, Jane lynch is one of my favs. Makes you want to be a better parent...and spouse.

After watching A.C.O.D. on Netflix I immediately logged onto IMDb to see what sort of ratings the movie had received from critics and other users. I was in fact very surprised that the reviews were not stronger for this movie.

I believe the main problem with this movie is that it must be listed as a comedy. A.C.O.D. is not the traditional comedy with one liners, slapstick, and crazy over the top situations, but is more of a drama dealing with the struggles of an adult living with the trauma of growing up the child of divorced parents. The protagonist Carter's character arc is quite engaging and mostly well written. Even things that he did that I felt were out of character seemed passable when his overall emotional state was considered. The movie was quite deep and could be potentially very meaningful to real life adult children of divorce.

Other positives of this film are in its acting and direction. Most of the actors in this movie were quite good. Adam Scott was typical Adam Scott, nothing new there. The direction was also quite good and I enjoyed the soundtrack.

If you plan to go into this movie expecting laughs though, you won't probably enjoy it as much as I did.

As I started watching this movie, it became very obvious that this was a very personal, cathartic movie. I have no problem with that, it's done all the time--but what's important, interesting, funny, and meaningful to the writer/director, doesn't always translate into something meaningful to the viewer unless there is far more skill in the storytelling. And that is what I think this movie lacked.

The plot simply covers the story of a a kid named Carter (and his younger brother Trey) who's father was a philanderer as a husband, as well as fairly cold and distant as a father. The father and mother haven't spoken for 20 years and the father has gone through several other step moms over those years.

I'm sure the "seminal" moment of Carter's 9th birthday was a huge deal to writer, but it was thrust at us so quickly at the beginning of the movie that we didn't have time for any background/setup to even know or care what was going on. To me, that scene which was apparently so pivotal ended up a throwaway scene because the writer seemed so eager to tell it that he told it too soon without any context whatsoever.

So we fast forward to Carter's now-successful (at least career-wise) life. There are a lot of funny moments here, but nothing we couldn't see in a half-hour sitcom. But the road the movie takes us down is a bit meandering and it seems very clear that we're going to have some sort of too-neatly wrapped up happy ending designed to close every loose end with a perfect situation and end all the pain of all the children who've gone through this situation.

To me, it just smacked too much of someone dumping his messed-up life on us and his wish of what could have been. It didn't make for an entertaining movie. Maybe a half-hour episode of Trophy Wife or something would have been a better venue for this story. Jimo

Think the reviews are unfair - it's a well made film, it's different and the cast are great.

No, it's not perfect. It's the not the best film ever made - but it is a good film, it's not the same story line that's been churned out a million and one times. Its definitely worth a watch, and the cast is great.

I love the multiple genres included in the film, it created a real life feel to it. Adam Scott is a great lead with a great cast around him. This is a great film to just chill out and watch without to much thinking that be enjoyed by all.

Carter (Adam Scott) is the long suffering son of divorced parents Hugh (Richard Jenkins) and Melissa (Catherine O'Hara) since he was 9. His slacker brother Trey (Clark Duke) is marrying Keiko (Valerie Tian). Sondra (Amy Poehler) is Hugh's latest wife and the landlord to Carter's restaurant. Gary (Ken Howard) is Melissa's latest husband. Neither Melissa nor Hugh are willing to go to the same wedding for Trey. Lauren (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) is Carter's girlfriend of four years. He finds out that his childhood counseling with Dr. Lorraine Judith (Jane Lynch) was actually a case study for her successful book "Children of Divorce". It leads him to reconsider his life and Dr. Judith wants to write a sequel "Adult Children of Divorce". Then he finds his father cheating with his mother. Michelle (Jessica Alba) and Mark (Adam Pally) are two of Dr. Judith's subjects.

I wonder where the good jokes are. The great cast gets into some off-kilter situations. Some of it is cute and chuckle-worthy. I think it's due mostly to the expert cast. O'Hara and Jenkins get in some good fun. The movie is slightly interesting but not so insightful to be actually compelling. We know that Adam Scott is good in an ensemble but the jury is still out for him to be the outright lead. There is too much comedic talent for it to be OK for so few laughs.

Grade: C+

A.C.O.D. is a completely mixed bag. The film centers around Carter (Adam Scott), who has spent 15 years dealing with the feud between his divorced parents (Richard Jenkins and Catherine O'Hara). When Carter's younger brother Trey (Clark Duke) Decides to get married, Carter must confront the feud and convince his parents to go to the wedding together.

Like I said earlier, this film is a mixed bag. Adam Scott is the best one in the film. He is able to convey sympathy for his parents while also trying to keep everything in an orderly fashion. His parents on the other hand? Well… They are crap. They were always bickering at each other and causing a big scene, which I understand is the point of their characters, but I never felt any authenticity in their performance. Catherine O'Hara really got on my nerves.

The ending felt very rushed. It's almost like the film was originally shot to be two hours long but during editing, the director decided to cut out a 30-minute chunk of the final act. At only one hour and 27 minutes, A.C.O.D. leaves a lot more to be desired. If you are a massive fan of Adam Scott and you have to see all his work then check it out, otherwise this is one you can probably skip.

.... but Carter learns he misperceived something important! What a fun movie to watch! Everybody plays their part well.

Poor Carter is caught in the middle of everybody's problems and needs. Then he discovers his past isn't quite what he thought it was! He has to pull all the family together for a wedding and maybe along the way he fixed a lot of lives.

This is a feel good flick and it's done very well - no problems for me! You might not laugh out loud but I'm sure anyone will smile throughout this story!

Watch it! You'll like it!

Adam Scott plays Carter, a restaurant owner who has spent most of his life keeping the peace between his hateful and bitter divorced parents, played by Richard Jenkins and Catherine O'Hara, by keeping them away from one another. When Carter's younger brother, played by Clark Duke, gets engaged, Carter is asked to be the best man and help plan the wedding. This means trying to get their mother and father in the same room without starting a war. The stress of this task leads Carter to re-visit his childhood therapist, played by Jane Lynch, where he finds out she's not a therapist but an author who was doing research for her now best-selling book, Adult Children Of Divorce.

Adam Scott has been around since the mid 90's but it wasn't until 2004 when his career really took off being cast in Martin Scorsese's film, The Aviator. It was in 2008, playing the evil older brother of Will Ferrell in Adam McKay's masterpiece (arguably the funniest film of all-time), Step Brothers, that Adam Scott's full potential as a comedic actor was finally noticed. A.C.O.D. re-unites him with Richard Jenkins, who played his step-father in Step Brothers, and Amy Poehler, who plays his wife on the sitcom, Parks and Recreation, yet here plays his mean-spirited step-mother. This will leave audiences to expect big laughs from A.C.O.D. as it's hard not to relate it to both Step Brothers and Parks and Rec, due to similar casting. Unfortunately, this will lead to disappointment.

The film is co-written by award-winning writer/producer Ben Karlin, who was a head writer for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and writes for Modern Family. Between Karlin's talent and a large ensemble cast filled with big names, director Stu Zicherman had much to manage, especially being his directorial debut.

The cast is excellent, especially Richard Jenkins and Catherine O'Hara. The real war going on here isn't between their characters in the film but between the drama and comedy that make up the story. The film seems to be trying to deliver a message that is lost, like a lot of potential laughs due to an imbalance. It's hard to tell whether this imbalance came from the script or from the inexperienced director.

A.C.O.D. begins as an exciting laugh-out-loud comedy. As the film moves past the first 20 minutes, it starts taking itself too seriously and becomes more dramatic than humorous, which will let down the majority of it's audience.

No the initials have nothing to do with cops, if that was your first thought (there is another one that is not very nice to the man from the force that might sound similar to some). No this was made up for the movie, though I guess there are quite a lot of people out there right now and I think there will be more in the future, who "lost" their parents, but more importantly their childhood.

One of the ways to deal with that is to make a comedy about it. So your parents divorced, does that mean it has an affect on you? Will you be another person because of that? Don't you already have that in you because you're a product of them being together (even if it was a short together)? There are a lot of questions and the movie tries its best to not slide into the obvious/cliché too often. Overall a nice movie, that has some bits of cast and crew talking about their parents after the credits start to roll (a bonus documentary?).

This is a funny comedy that involves two generations. It is a good brain off watch.

'A.C.O.D.': Three and a Half Stars (Out of Five)

New comedy-drama film about a restaurant owner who finds out he was one of the subjects of a book, on the effects of divorce on children (when he was a kid of course), and the author now wants to write a follow-up on the subjects as adults. The title is an abbreviation for Adult Children of Divorce and is based (loosely) on the director's (Stu Zicherman) actual experiences. It was written by Zicherman and Ben Karlin and stars Adam Scott, Richard Jenkins, Catherine O'Hara, Clark Duke, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Amy Poehler, Jane Lynch, Ken Howard and Jessica Alba. I found the movie to be very funny and a seemingly honest (yet exaggerated) look at divorce and it's effects on family members.

Scott plays Carter, a successful restaurant owner who's been dating his girlfriend, Lauren (Winstead), for four years but has never thought at all about marriage (or even moving in with her) mainly because of his history dealing with his parents (and their many marriages). Jenkins plays his father Hugh, who's now married to a woman Carter's age (Poehler), and O'Hara plays his mother Melissa, who's now married to a nice guy named Gary (Howard). Hugh and Melissa have not spoken in twenty years and hate each other's guts. When Carter's younger brother Trey (Duke), who doesn't even remember their parents being together, tells Carter he's getting married it becomes Carter's responsibility to convince his parents that they can be in the same room together (for the wedding). He goes to see Dr. Judith (Lynch) for help and finds out the woman he thought was his childhood psychiatrist (Dr. Judith) is not a psychiatrist at all but was actually writing a book on children of divorce (and Carter was one of her subjects). Things become more complicated when Carter's parents do end up seeing each other and Dr. Judith wants to write a follow-up to her book (with Carter's involvement again).

Most of the crew who worked on the film are all adult children of divorce (as we find out through interviews in the end credits). It is an interesting and very serious subject matter but that doesn't mean it can't be made fun of at all. This film does a good job of treating the subject matter seriously while still being really funny at times. Characters and issues are of course exaggerated but they still seem like real people with real problems. I think Scott is outstanding in the lead and the supporting cast all does what they do best as well (in minimal parts though). Zicherman does a good job for a first time director and the screenplay is well written as well (coming from a writer of 'ELEKTRA'!). I'd definitely say it's worth seeing, unless divorce is a touchy subject for you (possibly); although it probably is for most of the people that made the movie as well.

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The story touches on a pseudo-science of the all too common syndrome of the American culture of having dysfunctional families. The assumption on top of this wreckage of a family culture also turns out to be non of a comedy deserving any praise. With the story offering many twists and surprises, the movie still is not a good entertainment. The story build up takes too long. The humor often is too corny. Also the drama side often lacks strength. The acting overall is also not a good job. Adam Scott seems to forget that this movie is meant to be a comedy, delving too deep at the drama side. Richard Jenkins and Catherine O'Hara tried their best and played their parts at a standard quality for a comedy. Having Mary Elizabeth Winstead really did nothing to help the acting overall.

Whenever I learn about a movie that has a GREAT cast and also sailed way under the radar (box office/buzz/viewership), I figure what you've got is a project where all the elements ended up being less than the sum of its parts and it just didn't quite work. A.C.O.D. is very much in that category for me. A talented and eclectic cast (Catherine O'Hara, Richard Jenkins, Adam Scott, Jane Lynch, Amy Poehler, etc. etc.) in a film I had never heard of until a year or so ago. What happened?

Well, first of all, it's a movie that doesn't quite fit into an easy niche. It's a comedy, but not a raucous one. There are no "memorable" crazy scenes with grand hijinks. It's a small, talky, sweet and bittersweet movie. Almost apologetic in scale..."excuse me, if you've got time, we have a nice story we'd like to tell you, but only if you have nothing better to do."

It's told almost entirely from the point of view of Adam Scott, a successful restaurateur in a very nice, comfortable long term relationship with Mary Elizabeth Winstead. One day, his younger brother, Clark Duke, announces his engagement to a young lady he's only been dating for a few months. The impending wedding causes Scott to try to address head on with his parents (long time BITTERLY divorced, and both remarried) their need to attend the wedding and to behave themselves.

Seems reasonable enough, but this helpful intent on Scott's part sets of a series of events that brings into question his OWN commitment to HIS relationship and sparks all sorts of trouble with his parents and their new partners. It's all small-scale, though. "Series of events" really means a series of minor hiccups. They are important to these characters, but not really terribly important for the viewer. The film explores some of these messy feelings in a perfectly amusing and amiable way...but nothing is groundbreaking, even though there aren't many films that have addressed this impact of divorce on adult children. In fact, the film is so "on the nose" about this topic, that it introduces us to a writer (Jane Lynch...in an underwritten role even she can't make very funny) who wrote a book about divorced children that featured Adam Scott's character, and who visits him again because she wants to do a follow-up book. This is all just in case we've missed that the movie is about Adult Children of Divorce.

Scott, thank goodness, is very good in the role. Even when he's at his most "unlikable" he's always a pleasant tour guide through the events of the film. His parents are played by O'Hara and Jenkins, and while the two aren't really given enough to do, they are fun nonetheless. Poehler's part is small, and she's been asked to play one of her unlikeable characters. I so much prefer her (and believe her acting) when she's nicer and perkier (a la Lesley Knope) rather than her "bitter" characters which are generic and interchangeable. The cover of the Blu Ray also shows Jessica Alba, who a) is terrible & b) is barely in the film. It says a lot when the far more charming, effective and believable Mary Elizabeth Winstead is nowhere on the cover. Her part is five time the size of Alba's, and she brings a warmth to her role that makes us root for her relationship with Scott. (Oh, and Ken Howard is in the film as O'Hara's new husband; he's actually quite nice in his role.)

A few surprising developments happen. A few fights and moments of conflict. But in the end, it's mostly just been a brisk, pleasant 90 minute diversion. I can't imagine seeing the film again, but I didn't mind spending time with this mostly engaging cast. I see why the movie wasn't a smash-hit; but it's also a shame almost no one has heard of it.

Decent comedy with Adam Scott and Clark Duke. An early preview of Hot Tub Time Machine 2.

A.C.O.D. is such a terrific film that it's difficult to believe that it's Zicherman's directorial debut. The screenplay, by Karlin and Zicherman, is remarkably clever and witty--combining humor with poignant insight to a very satisfying effect. Zicherman gets the pacing exactly right, showing faith in the intelligence of his audience by never belaboring a point. The characters are engaging and the acting is very great. If your an adult child of divorce or a divorced parent who worries about your children, you're likely to recognize something in this film. (When Carter goes through his parents' divorce papers, try to catch some of the petty, ridiculous allegations each makes.) In this film, you see revealed some painful truths about human nature and complex family relationships--always with humor and compassion. This is one of the best comedies I've seen.

A.C.O.D. is a plain comedy about marriages, divorces and children of divorced parents.Richard Jenkins,Catherine O'Hara,Jane Lynch , Amy Poehler and Adam Scott (maybe I forget some others actors and actresses): a great and excellent cast.Therefore A.C.O.D. is a good and also quite funny comedy about the families, the marriages, the divorces and the children of divorced parents.

This is a typical comedy/drama about marriage, love, life, and adultery. It's filmed well, acted reasonably well, and told in a clear style.

But despite all of that, it just sort of sucks. For starters, it's not funny. It's sad. While the story is clear, it's not a good one by any means. In fact, it had me a little bit baffled. Were we supposed to feel sympathy for the main character? Or were we supposed to agree with everyone else' take that there is something wrong with him?

The plot is simple. There is a man who's parents divorced in a very ugly fashion years previous, and made his life miserable growing up, resulting in a well-adjusted young man who is afraid to get married. It seems plausible, but it doesn't carry through well at all. Several characters in the film repeatedly tell the main character that he needs to address his issues. But frankly, I felt throughout the entire movie that it was EVERYONE ELSE that was broken.

You have a ton of people doing bad things to each other with no thought at all about how it effects other people, and it's HIM that needs fixing? It didn't fly. Not even a little bit.

If this movie succeeds in poking fun at anything, it would be that it spends a great deal of time mocking the institution of marriage. An action I felt was neither warranted nor funny.