Tennessee

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Tennessee

R

Released Jun 5, 2009

1h 39m

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

35%

Tomatometer

20 Reviews

54%

Popcornmeter

2,500+ Ratings

Years after escaping the clutches of his alcoholic father, cabdriver Carter (Adam Rothenberg) hears that Ellis (Ethan Peck), the brother he has raised as a son, has leukemia. In desperate need of a suitable bone-marrow donor, Carter and Ellis set off on a solemn drive from New Mexico to Knoxville, Tenn., in hopes of finding their errant father. Along the way, the two befriend truck-stop waitress Krystal (Mariah Carey), who joins them on the road -- with her own dark past in hot pursuit.

Critics Consensus

Despite some beautiful scenery, Tennessee can't extend its simple premise beyond typical independent road trip movie tropes.

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Andrew Grant

Time Out

Rated: 2/5

Nov 17, 2011

Full Review

Elizabeth Weitzman

New York Daily News

The good news for Carey is that she gets to prove she's a pretty decent actress after all. The bad news, of course, is that she's done it in a movie no one has any other reason to see.

Rated: 2/5

Jun 5, 2009

Full Review

New York Post

Two brothers slowly make their way from New Mexico back to their home in Tennessee in a watery indie drama.

Rated: 1/4

Jun 5, 2009

Full Review

Avi Offer

NYC Movie Guru

Has beautiful scenery and brief suspense, but that's not nearly enough to keep you immersed or captivated in the often contrived story or any of its poorly developed characters.

Rated: 4.25/10

Jun 15, 2009

Full Review

Clay Cane

BET.com

So the big question is -- how was Mariah? Surprisingly, Mrs. Cannon was the light in an otherwise morbid and boring film. She had flair, swagger and a convincing Texas accent.

Rated: C-

Jun 10, 2009

Full Review

Ben Lyons

At the Movies

The problem with the film is that it is depressing for no real reason.

Jun 8, 2009

Full Review

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Marcos Vinicius L

A atuação da Mariah Carey foi a melhor coisa que aconteceu nesse filme. A segunda melhor foi a música composta por ela com Willie Nelson para a trilha sonora: Right To Dream.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/04/23

Full Review

Cameron M

With a sluggish pace and little invention to its premise it won't stand out much against other indie roadtrip flicks, but Tennessee is held aloft by it's leads (including Mariah Carey showing a grand improvement in her acting), ravishingly filmed environment and its emotionally human center with a moving ending.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

10/23/15

Full Review

Audience Member

(**): [img]http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/user/icons/icon13.gif[/img] Very predictable and it lost my attention as it went along.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/18/23

Full Review

Audience Member

One hell of good movie starring Mariah Carey , Ethan Peck and Adam Rothenberg. Two brothers in search of their father meet an aspiring singer who helps get to Nashville .

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/13/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Even though this movie is totally depressing it proves that Mariah Carey is actually a good actress. I'm going to finish watching just to see how she does.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/14/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Guilt-free pause-and-never-resume flick.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

01/30/23

Full Review

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Aaron Woodley

Director

Adam Rothenberg

Carter

Ethan Peck

Ellis

Mariah Carey

Krystal

Lance Reddick

Frank

Ryan Lynn

Carter - age 18

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Synopsis

Years after escaping the clutches of his alcoholic father, cabdriver Carter (Adam Rothenberg) hears that Ellis (Ethan Peck), the brother he has raised as a son, has leukemia. In desperate need of a suitable bone-marrow donor, Carter and Ellis set off on a solemn drive from New Mexico to Knoxville, Tenn., in hopes of finding their errant father. Along the way, the two befriend truck-stop waitress Krystal (Mariah Carey), who joins them on the road -- with her own dark past in hot pursuit.

Director: Aaron Woodley
Producer: Lee Daniels
Screenwriter: Russell Schaumburg
Distributor: Vivendi Entertainment
Rating: R (Language)
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 5, 2009, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 17, 2017
Runtime: 1h 39m

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