Sympathy for Delicious

R

2010

1 hr. 36 min.

Comedy

Drama

List

31%

26 Reviews

Tomatometer

39%

1,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

A paralyzed DJ gets more than he bargained for when he tries faith healing.

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Critics Consensus

Mark Ruffalo's directorial debut inspires more Sympathy than plaudits due to a convoluted story and unengaging style.

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Red B

Well now I understand why Mark never directed another film after this. Terrible editing, horrifically bad cinematography & music, atrocious pacing, and terrible acting overall. Mark Ruffalo is the only stable thing in this and gets weighed down by all the constant misfires and terrible plot. More than anything the biggest issue as to why this was doomed from the start is the plot is so stupid ridiculous that if I dare you to find someone who won't burst out laughing if you tell them what this is about. They probably won't believe its real. The constant shaky cam isfor 80% of the runtime is so distracting, the settings aren't memorable, the framing half the time isn't good, and half the time its jsut bizarre what is happening. Delicious isn't likeable, charming, or riveting to watch in the slightest. He's annoying, fustrating, and dislikeable. Orlando Bloom in this is nothing short of bizarre, I seriously can't even describe his character and performance in this. To say its over the top and surreal is a insult to those two terms. The rock music is horrifically bad in this and the other tracks never have a unified theme or tone. Than this decides to to stop using shaky cam in the final 20 minutes and it just feels so out of place after watching the nonstop shaky cam so long. Also, the subplot of joining a rock band feels like it could've been cut from the story and should've been kept as a character drama. This is basically a rip off of The Green Mile somewhat except it does nothing better than that. The one scene where he heals his annoying friend was kind of nice but your so out of gas at that point you can't even get excited about it. This is like a character study drama mixed with a religious film and just gets completely muddled in its execution and terrible plot to execute those ideas which its trying to express. Honestly, just read the Bible or watch The Green Mile instead. It is so hard to describe this train wreck except stay away from this.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

09/29/23

Full Review

Audience Member

This movie has an interesting premise of a man who is able to heal people and a good story. Acting is decent but the problem is the movie is poorly made. The script isn’t very compelling, the camera work is to wonkey and zoomed to close and a good part of the movie is just plain boring. Such an interesting concept for this movie shouldn’t be boring. Hopefully we can see better films in the future directed by Mark Ruffalo.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

12/15/20

Full Review

kevin c

Christopher Thornton wrote and stars as a recently wheelchair bound DJ, living in his car, discovers he can heal people by laying his hands on them. With guidance from a priest played by Mark Ruffalo, who also directs, he begins helping people until greed gets in the way. I liked the idea of this film as it was pretty original. Enjoyed this but felt it was missing something.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The Story / Idea Is Captivating Just Enough To Keep Things Interesting. Character Development Is A Little Soft, However There Is Enough Talent On Show For The Characters To Have Some Level Of Intensity. Those Two Things Alone Keep It All Gelled & Got Me Through To The End.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/21/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Crap story, forgettable and unlikable characters, what more can I say.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/17/23

Full Review

Audience Member

It's a long time before this movie is done. Did the director loose focus? Not so much; as for the plot, it never thickens. The true entertainment is in waiting for the resolution.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/05/23

Full Review

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Mark Ruffalo

Director

Orlando Bloom

The Stain

Juliette Lewis

Ariel Lee

Laura Linney

Nina Hogue

Mark Ruffalo

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John Carroll Lynch

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Michael O'Sullivan

Washington Post

You can't make this stuff up. Or maybe you can, but you shouldn't.

Rated: 1.5/4

May 6, 2011

Full Review

Matt Singer

IFC.com

Good intentions and poor execution.

Rated: C

May 5, 2011

Full Review

Peter Rainer

Christian Science Monitor

Mark Ruffalo is one of the best actors of his generation, and I'd like to be able to say that, with his directorial debut, Sympathy for Delicious, he's one of its best filmmakers, too. Alas, this semiexpressionist fantasia is a botch.

Rated: C-

Apr 29, 2011

Full Review

Debbie Lynn Elias

Behind The Lens

One cannot help but be moved by Sympathy for Delicious and walk away with a personal sense of grace, no matter how small, along with the desire to be better.

Nov 16, 2019

Full Review

Brian Orndorf

Blu-ray.com

After working with some impressive filmmakers throughout his career, learning from the best, Ruffalo's effort is tremendously disappointing.

Rated: D+

Nov 12, 2017

Full Review

Sr. Rose Pacatte

National Catholic Reporter

My impression of the film is that it was like watching a Flannery O'Connor dark comedy of the spirit where the priest-savior cannot find himself and the man-healer cannot cure himself.

Jun 29, 2017

Full Review

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Synopsis

A paralyzed DJ gets more than he bargained for when he tries faith healing.

Director: Mark Ruffalo
Executive Producer: Barry Habib, Joanne Jacobson, Dean M. Leavitt, Marcelo Paladini
Screenwriter: Christopher Thornton
Production Co: Corner Store Entertainment
Rating: R (Some Drug Content|Pervasive Language|Nudity)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (DVD): Aug 23, 2011
Box Office (Gross USA): $13.1K