A.C.O.D.
A.C.O.D.
R | 04 October 2013 (USA)
A.C.O.D. Trailers

A grown man is still caught in the crossfire of his parents' 15 year divorce. He discovers he was unknowingly part of a study on divorced children and is enlisted in a follow-up years later, which wreaks new havoc on his family.

Reviews
Ben Parker

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.

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Matt Wyatt

In A.C.O.D. Adam Scott plays Carter, a successful restaurateur who seems to have it all. As a child however his parents (Richard Jenkins and Catherine O'Hara) were involved in a brutal divorce that drug on for years. When Carter's Brother Trey (Clark Duke) announces he is getting married, Carter tries to get his parents to a place where they can be in the same room for the sake of the wedding. Overwhelmed by the task, Carter turns to what he thinks is his childhood therapist Dr. Judith (Jane Lynch). Only he finds out she was an author who was using him as a subject of a study, Children of Divorce. Once they reconnect, Dr. Judith is inspired to write a follow up to her best seller and revisit the kids she included in the study. Along the way of preparing for his brother's wedding and participating in the new study we learn that Carter isn't as well adjusted as he seems. At which point all seems to go haywire for our viewing enjoyment. I enjoyed this film on many levels. The acting to start is what really makes this film, you could not have found a better cast. It's great to see Adam Scott and Richard Jenkins together, given how well they worked together in Stepbrothers (2008). Catherine O'Hara is always a pleasure to see in any comedy, a very underrated actress. Be it Home Alone (1990), Best in Show (2000) or Orange County (2002) she never disappoints. I hope that there are at least talks somewhere for her to do another Christopher Guest film full of adlibbed genius. Jane Lynch as the therapist/author is great as usual, not far off from the therapist role she played in Two and a Half Men. She does snarky sarcastic to a fine art form. Amy Poehler as the stepmother is funny as well, hard to miss with her in anything. Clark Duke is what I refer to as the poor man's Jonah Hill. He will work in the same capacity, just with limited acting range. I always feel like he is the exact same guy in every movie I see him in, Hot Tub Time Machine (2010) or Sex Drive (2008). What really made this film for me personally was the great indie rock soundtrack. As the film progressed I was surprised by more and more musical gems, Dirty Gold, Okkerville River, Deer Tick, Architecture in Helsinki, Audio Paint and Dr. Dog. If you are a fan of music the soundtrack alone is worth catching the movie for. Overall I would recommend A.C.O.D., its irreverent family dysfunction at its most entertaining levels. The film has a very hipster independent film feel, but not so much to where it's off putting. Currently the film is available on Netfilx and is easily a must see of comedies available on the format. If you enjoyed this review, please check out my blog at yourturntopick.com

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rushknight

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.

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ebonim74

This movie was one of those films that you just keep watching not because it's good, but because you find yourself trying to figure out the point of the story throughout its lame phases of development. Just like back in the day when American Beauty won the Oscar for best picture, or that other incredibly stupid movie Little Miss Sunshine, this is one that could be similarly categorized as unworthy of even obtaining funds for production! Extremely pointless & disappointing. Adult Children of Divorce (ACOD) should seek counseling if they are unable to re-immerse in healthy, social relationships. Additionally, while I do understand this film was labeled as a comedy and some of the actors in the movie are known to play in comedic roles, this movie was the antonym of humorous. In fact, is was absolutely painful to watch!

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