Director Gary Winick ("Sweet Nothing") ingeniously complements Draper's layered approach by modulating the film's energy in fascinating ways.
75
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
The little film is made uniquely engaging by the performance of its young star, Chris Marquette.
75
San Francisco ChronicleBob Graham
San Francisco ChronicleBob Graham
If it seems to have the ingredients of an after-school special, the performances take it to another level. Gut level.
75
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
Has the schematic feel of a disease-of-the-week TV movie, but the connections made between jazz and the minds that produce it turns the film into something much more intimate and compelling.
75
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
Badly lit and at times, awkwardly inspirational, yet there's real feeling in it, especially when the movie suggests that Tourette's syndrome is every bit as pure an expression of the spirit as it is a ''disorder.''
63
Chicago TribuneJohn Petrakis
Chicago TribuneJohn Petrakis
Works better as a sociological study than as a gripping drama.
63
Philadelphia InquirerDesmond Ryan
Philadelphia InquirerDesmond Ryan
An honest, plainspoken and unsentimental movie.
60
Village VoiceAmy Taubin
Village VoiceAmy Taubin
A sympathetic but conventional disease-of-the-week movie.
Like most movies that examine specific ailments, this gawky, occasionally touching film has the feel of a dramatized case history whose purpose is to educate as much as it is to tell a story.
50
L.A. WeeklyPaul Malcolm
L.A. WeeklyPaul Malcolm
What at first seems emotionally charged, ultimately comes off as contrived.