A film that tries too hard and wastes a cast of skilled veterans and talented newcomers.
Comment
11/14/08
Sixty Six (2008)
65 %
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted: 43
Fresh: 28
Rotten:15
Average Rating: 6.1/10
Consensus: Likable but overly sentimental, Sixty Six has snatches of sharp dialogue but is ultimately too predicable.
Theatrical Release:Aug 1, 2008 Limited
Synopsis: Bernie Rubens (Gregg Sulkin) is a nerdy 12-year-old preparing for his Bar Mitzvah, which he wants to be a huge, ornate affair. However, his parents, Manny (Eddie Marsan) and Esther (Helena Bonham... [More]
Starring: Helena Bonham-Carter, Eddie Marsan, Greg Sulkin, Stephen Rea
Director: Paul Weiland
Reviews for Sixty Six
Offbeat, nostalgic, wonderful.
10/29/08
Since Mr. Weiland himself had grown up in a Jewish section of North London, he was able to include many details of his own childhood.
10/23/08
Top CriticIt’s labeled a 'true-ish story', and the results are cheeky fun.
10/18/08
Top CriticSixty Six is also about accepting parents with all their frailties, coming to terms with the unfairness of life, and finding a way to switch the focus to the wonders we do have to celebrate.
09/12/08
Top CriticThe story line sounds plain and simple, but the movie is enlightened by Bernie's impassioned narration and by a gallery of small comic details.
08/29/08
Top CriticWeiland has given us something we can cheer and feel good about.
08/29/08
[Director] Weiland pours so much heart into his autobiographically 'true-ish' story that accessibility is a nonissue.
08/22/08
Top Critic...the sort of Jewish film that the whole family can enjoy without feeling they're fulfilling an obligation to see it.
08/22/08
...a charming coming-of-age period piece about the trials and tribulations one young boy must face in his quest to become a man.
08/19/08
Weiland's occasional heavy-handedness is more than redeemed by the lightness of his cast.
08/15/08
It does cast Helena Bonham Carter against type as a devoted mother and housewife, and, for soccer nuts, integrate pristine footage from the '66 Cup.
08/15/08
You don’t have to be Jewish to appreciate its uncondescending fondness for the claustrophobic warmth of family life among working-class people apprehensively inching their way toward upward mobility.
08/07/08
Sixty Six may find a niche audience, but instead of depicting a boy's first steps toward manhood -- ceremony aside -- it turns into an uninvolving portrait of self-absorption.
08/06/08
Top CriticI think it’s a very heartfelt story, but we get the same thing over and over again.
08/04/08
Top CriticSixty Six's loving portrayal of the ups & downs of a Jewish family in London charmingly entices the viewer to find themselves within its four-eyed, adorably geeky hero.
08/02/08
Director Paul Weiland ("Made of Honor") co-wrote the tone-deaf screenplay for this cinematic abortion that features the ever-lousy Stephen Rea adding his specific brand of stench to a pasted-together movie that is predictable and boring as it is depressin
08/02/08
The direction of this autobiographical tale by Paul Weiland (whose lengthy rap sheet runs all the way from Leonard Part 6 to Made of Honor) is less than subtle.
08/01/08
Top CriticThough inspired by Weiland's own childhood, the film's plot sticks close to the underdog's coming-of-age formula and is marred by young Bernie's gratingly self-pitying voice-over.
08/01/08
It’s designed to be crowd-pleasing and tug on hearts across the board, but there’s a manipulative quality that will put a ceiling on business.
08/01/08
Latest News for Sixty Six
July 30, 2008:
Coming-of-age comedy chronicles British Bar Mitzvah Boy's World Cup coincidence nightmare. 
More...
June 29, 2008:
Trailer & Poster review
More...
Related Forums for Sixty Six
RT On Current TV
What’s Hot On RT
Fresh Links
Featured
Appreciating Michael Jackson
TIME music critic Josh Tyrangiel remembers - and appreciates - the high peak of Michael Jackson's career in the early '80s.
10 Best Picture Noms?
With the Best Picture Oscar noms now 10 deep, BuzzSugar looks at 10 films that should have made the cut.
Successful Sci-Fi Sequels
Sequels never used to be as good as the original, but now they can be even better. Can Transformers 2 follow suit?
Films That Time Forgot
The AV Club's Zack Handlen explores why Snowbeast has been dismissed and forgotten.
IGN RSS Feeds