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Permanent

Play trailer 2:03 Poster for Permanent PG-13 2017 1h 33m Comedy Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
38% Tomatometer 8 Reviews 69% Popcornmeter 250+ Ratings
Aurelie, 13, dreams about getting a perm so that she can finally fit in at her small-town Virginia school. Things soon go incredibly wrong when her clueless parents bring her to a beauty school to save a few bucks.
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Permanent

Critics Reviews

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Frank Scheck The Hollywood Reporter 12/18/2017
Arquette is charmingly endearing as the frustrated Jeanne, Wilson movingly conveys his character's vulnerability as well as his bluster and McLean is terrific as the beleaguered young girl desperate to have a mane like Farrah Fawcett's. Go to Full Review
Glenn Kenny New York Times 12/17/2017
As Auralie, Ms. McLean is appealing and fresh-faced and could do well in a better coming-of-age movie in a few years. Go to Full Review
Peter Debruge Variety 12/17/2017
It's not without its charms; they just tend to be suffocated by bad wig jokes, distracting wardrobe choices and Craig Wedren's invasively cutesy score. Go to Full Review
Brigid Presecky FF2 Media 08/16/2019
4.5/5
Both bizarre and charming, the sincerity of Permanent is refreshingly sweet and a timeless take on coming-of-age. Go to Full Review
Indra Arriaga Anchorage Press 02/02/2018
Permanent has permanently missed the boat. Go to Full Review
Brian Orndorf Blu-ray.com 01/04/2018
C
"Permanent" isn't particularly funny, and Burson's furiously idiosyncratic approach registers as borderline obnoxious at times. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Popsicle S. @popsiclestand Oct 6 Off-beat, creative, and super funny. A true gem. See more Honeythorn N 01/28/2024 Sweet movie.. Loved actresses playing mom and daughter.. Rainn Wilson Rocks.. See more Georgan G 10/05/2023 Cute film about overcoming fears. All the characters are lovable, except the bullies who are appropriately nasty. I smiled throughout the entire movie. See more Gayle K 01/28/2023 I loved this fun, quirky and feel good movie about a unusual family in a special town. Definitely also fighting back on racism a little in this movie which was supposed to take place in the 70's. Definitely has an indy vibe to it which I really enjoyed. Unique characters and excellent acting. It is a hidden gem and great one to watch. Definitely lighted up my mood. See more 09/27/2020 Decent watch, probably won't watch again, but can recommend. The biggest problem with this is that it is just awkward. Rainn Wilson is really good, but odd as a straight man. He was a serious, but goofy character in "The Office", but this is different: he's serious bordering on sad here with a marriage in jeopardy. The oddest bit is that this is the one movie that Kira Mclean has stared in, she not only leads this movie well, but carries the movie easily. She goes all in with young teen angst in each of the story lines she's in as she's in every story line except for the weirdness with mom almost leaving dad. This is a fine movie, it's a decent coming of age story, "new kid at the school", renewed love, and "finding self" all mixed together, but it's just presented in the weirdest way possible, which I think is all for the setting of "small hick town". See more 03/24/2020 Love this movie. Great acting by all. The story is told humorously (deadpan) and is realistic and tells of the emotions and dynamics in various types of relationships and of growing up. I highly recommend it. I saw it in Hulu. It's pg13 and watched it with my 13 yo who also enjoyed it. See more Read all reviews
Permanent

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Movie Info

Synopsis Aurelie, 13, dreams about getting a perm so that she can finally fit in at her small-town Virginia school. Things soon go incredibly wrong when her clueless parents bring her to a beauty school to save a few bucks.
Director
Colette Burson
Producer
Mary Ann Marino, Haroula Rose, Sam Bisbee, Joshua Blum
Screenwriter
Colette Burson
Distributor
Magnolia Pictures
Production Co
Magnolia Pictures, Washington Square Films
Rating
PG-13 (Crude Sexual References|Thematic Elements|Language)
Genre
Comedy
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Dec 15, 2017, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Dec 15, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA)
$5.7K
Runtime
1h 33m
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