Inventing the Abbotts

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2:21

Inventing the Abbotts

R

1997

1h 50m

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

41%

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27 Reviews

51%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

In the 1950s, brothers Jacey (Billy Crudup) and Doug Holt (Joaquin Phoenix), who come from the poorer side of their sleepy Midwestern town, vie for the affections of the wealthy, lovely Abbott sisters. Lady-killer Jacey alternates between Eleanor (Jennifer Connelly) and Alice (Joanna Going), wanting simply to break the hearts of rich young women. But sensitive Doug has a real romance with Pamela (Liv Tyler), which Jacey and the Abbott patriarch, Lloyd (Will Patton), both frown upon.

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Jonathan Rosenbaum

Chicago Reader

Apart from the script, it’s the actors who make this a film worth seeing; all of them look and sometimes even act like real people rather than types or icons.

Rated: 3/4

Jun 15, 2022

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Emanuel Levy

Variety

Cast of newcomers is appealing, but this small-town melodrama is so old-fashioned and out-of-touch with contemporary youth that it feels as if it were made the same time that its story is set, in 1957.

Rated: C

Aug 8, 2007

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Mike Clark

USA Today

Would be a lot more fun were it a trashy Troy Donahue-Diane McBain vehicle ground out by Warner Bros. in 1960.

Rated: 1.5/4

Jan 1, 2000

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Dan Webster

Spokesman-Review (Washington)

With a cast that is far too beautiful for real life, this period-piece romance would seem to be some sort of fantasy straight from the pages of, say, Mirabella magazine... [But] this ends up being a small, patiently paced and touching story.

Rated: 3/4

Sep 22, 2025

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David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

...an evocative, entertaining drama...

Rated: 2.5/4

Dec 28, 2023

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Jake Euker

F5 (Wichita, KS)

Rated: 1/5

Mar 18, 2006

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Chiemezie E

A fantastic melodramatic masterpiece. The casting was amazing and the acting was top-tier. We all wish we got to see more of Jennifer Connelly but Liv Tyler's performance and rawness really filled that void and gave us a memorable iconic character.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/02/25

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Audience Member

What people miss is that this movie has less to do with envy of the wealthy than it does of two nerotic family that needed therapy more than anything else. After awhile it became overbearing and I lost interest. It's either a obsession with sex, money and power, or inrequited love. There's not a stable person in sight. There really wasn't any reaolutuin for the neurosis continues to the end of the film. Hard to care about a movie that's bascialll watching one car crash after another with no resolve in sight. It was OK but I wouldn't recommend it.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/03/23

Full Review

Audience Member

This moving was boring, corny, dull, unoriginal what else am I missing .... 1.7. Acting wasnt terrible given the script but cmon . This really felt like a cheap lifetime movie

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

12/12/20

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Audience Member

"Life is not a cafeteria" Good movie set in the late 1950s, early 1960s. A coming of age film that has ping pong, work, academics, class, cocktail parties, love, & loss. There is also forgiveness, love, & redemption. Well worth seeing.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/23/23

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Audience Member

Easily one of the most underrated movies of the 90's. Always thought this was a well-regarded movie, but just looked it up on Rotten Tomatoes and critics / audiences hated it. I guess they just weren't in the mood for it, which is lame, because it's really good. Well acted, beautiful, and told economically. What more can you want?

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/19/23

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panayiota k

A bit slow paced but the characters are interesting.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

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Pat O'Connor

Director

Joaquin Phoenix

Doug Holt

Billy Crudup

Jacey Holt

Liv Tyler

Pamela Abbott

Will Patton

Lloyd Abbott

Kathy Baker

Helen Holt

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Inventing the Abbotts: Trailer 1

2:21

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Synopsis

In the 1950s, brothers Jacey (Billy Crudup) and Doug Holt (Joaquin Phoenix), who come from the poorer side of their sleepy Midwestern town, vie for the affections of the wealthy, lovely Abbott sisters. Lady-killer Jacey alternates between Eleanor (Jennifer Connelly) and Alice (Joanna Going), wanting simply to break the hearts of rich young women. But sensitive Doug has a real romance with Pamela (Liv Tyler), which Jacey and the Abbott patriarch, Lloyd (Will Patton), both frown upon.

Director: Pat O'Connor
Producer: Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, Janet Meyers
Screenwriter: Ken Hixon
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Production Co: Fox 2000 Pictures, Twentieth Century Fox, Imagine Entertainment
Rating: R
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 4, 1997, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 25, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $5.9M
Runtime: 1h 50m
Sound Mix: Surround

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