What Goes Up

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What Goes Up

R

2009

1h 44m

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

14%

Tomatometer

29 Reviews

31%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

An emotionally damaged New York reporter (Steve Coogan) covers the Challenger launch, and afterward, he becomes close to a group of students whose teacher was killed in the explosion. As the kids work through their grief in passionate and often ludicrous ways, the reporter becomes entangled in their world of lies and misplaced sexual desires as they cast him as their new hero and teacher.

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Critics Consensus

What Goes Up squanders the charisma of Steve Coogan with a lazy screenplay, contrived plotting, and overall poor production.

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Michael Phillips

Chicago Tribune

About as cruddy as a cruddy little indie can get, especially given a cast that should've known better.

Rated: 0/4

Jun 5, 2009

Full Review

Andrew O'Hehir

Salon.com

Director and co-writer Jonathan Glatzer handles his talented cast well, and the movie is dark, droll and sentimental in roughly the correct proportions.

Jun 5, 2009

Full Review

Glenn Whipp

Los Angeles Times

[Director] Glatzer aims to wring laughter out of this desperation but succeeds only in producing a series of contrived characters and situations that make The Breakfast Club look like an unfiltered documentary.

Rated: 2/5

May 29, 2009

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S. Jhoanna Robledo

Common Sense Media

High school drama tale is too edgy for young teens.

Rated: 3/5

Sep 21, 2010

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Pablo Villaça

Cinema em Cena

O humor melanclico estabelecido pelo estreante Glatzer funciona na maior parte do tempo, sendo beneficiado ainda pela impecvel performance de Coogan.

Rated: 4/5

Feb 21, 2010

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Pete Hammond

Hollywood.com

Rated: 3/5

Sep 8, 2009

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Steve D

Strong cast, not much else.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

10/09/23

Full Review

Audience Member

What a load of crap! I thought I would've stumbled upon greatness as I did with indie gem "Wendy and Lucy", boy was I wrong. Disappointing performances from notable stars such as Steve Coogan, Hilary Duff and Josh Peck this Dramedy if you can even call it that failed in ever sense of the word. Set in 1986 with some characters not even looking the part, the story had potential at first but fell on its face hard with nonsensical subplots and overly dramatic characters. I would challenge my movie watching friends too watch so we can pick it apart but everyone else, Avoid avoid avoid at all cost.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

02/14/23

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Audience Member

THIS IS MY FAVORITE MOVIE

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/20/23

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Audience Member

This movie tries to be one of those cute, quirky, indie movies that everyone claims. to love. It has all the cliches, but is mostly just filled with annoying characters. You do get to see a scantily clad Hilary Duff, but not enough to make up for the rest of the movie. It also has Molly Shannon, one of the least talented actress there is. Skip it.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

02/19/23

Full Review

Audience Member

"What Goes Up" tries really hard to find its point, sometimes a little too hard. That's not to say that there isn't any substance here--there was definitely something--but the film never digs deeper. Steve Coogan gives a good performance as the lead character (never heard of him before), and Hilary Duff does okay as Lucy albeit a few awkwardly uttered F bombs. Josh Peck is just creepy, and Olivia Thirlby just looks sullen or screams her head off. "What Goes Up" feels really somber and melancholy, but we never see into the drama. That's the problem. There's no real character development and not much story telling going on. It just skims the murky surface of an implied very deep pool of mystery. Which this film should have unraveled, but alas, it failed. Not recommended.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/10/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I like movies that make you think. And although it was an indie film, the movie did manage to portray an effective message and an impacting plot.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/26/23

Full Review

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Jonathan Glatzer

Director

Steve Coogan

Campbell Babbitt

Hilary Duff

Lucy

Molly Shannon

Penelope

Olivia Thirlby

Tess

Josh Peck

Jim

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Synopsis

An emotionally damaged New York reporter (Steve Coogan) covers the Challenger launch, and afterward, he becomes close to a group of students whose teacher was killed in the explosion. As the kids work through their grief in passionate and often ludicrous ways, the reporter becomes entangled in their world of lies and misplaced sexual desires as they cast him as their new hero and teacher.

Director: Jonathan Glatzer
Producer: Jonathan Glatzer, R.D. Robb
Screenwriter: Jonathan Glatzer, Robert Lawson
Production Co: Station 3, Insight Film Studios, Three Kings Productions, Nasser Entertainment Group
Rating: R (Some Drug Use|All Involving Teens|Sexuality|Language)
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): May 29, 2009, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 31, 2009
Runtime: 1h 44m

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