Product Details

• Actors: Toni Collette, Michael Sheen, Jason Spevack, Samantha Weinstein, Frank Moore
• Directors: Dennis Lee
• Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, NTSC, Surround Sound, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: Entertainment One
• DVD Release Date: July 3, 2012
• Run Time: 95 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B007XF0XZM
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #41,816 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

A ten year-old boy-genius, who was artificially conceived inside a Petri-dish, embarks on a search for his biological father with his single mom and a Post-it notes-obsessed university professor.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A very funny dark comedy that is worth watching. The actors make it that much better. I recommend this. I say B+. May 11, 2012

By Tony Heck

"The truth is, Henry, you are a miracle of modern medicine." After ten year old Henry (Spevack) is suspended from kindergarten he has a talk with his grandfather. When he is told that his grandfather has located his half-sister Henry finally thinks he has a chance to find his father. This movie started off very funny and almost held it the whole way. The humor is pretty dark at times and you laugh at things you don't feel like you should. The kid that plays Henry is very good in this and so is the girl that plays his sister. I really like these kind of movies about dysfunctional families for some reason. Michael Sheen's character is especially funny and I hope he plays more roles like this. There isn't really anything new or amazing to this one but it is very entertaining and funny almost the whole way through. I recommend this. Overall, not really anything original but the actors make this very much worth seeing. I liked it. I give it a B+.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Overburdened By Eccentricity: This Dark Comedy Pushes Hard, But Doesn't Provide Many Actual Laughs June 29, 2012

By K. Harris HALL OF FAMETOP 10 REVIEWER

I think that it's become my mantra: "quirk is the curse of independent cinema." In an effort to be cutesy and/or clever, films have been systematically stripping away genuine warmth and humor by presenting over-the-top character types and sitcom contrivances instead of mining what is really funny in our everyday foibles. It becomes a fine balancing act, then, because a good quirky film can be both hysterical and touch your heartstrings. However, one that pushes too far can be painfully unreal and hard to sit through. And, in my opinion, there is very little middle ground. Filmmaker Dennis Lee includes a lot of big ideas and some major ambitions in the dark comedy "Jesus Henry Christ," but the chaotic result is too enamored of its own eccentricity. None of the characters feel remotely real and the situations are absolutely preposterous, but Lee wants us to care about a deeper meaning underneath it all. And the movie never made me care. More importantly, though, the outrageousness is never particularly funny.

The film benefits tremendously by casting Toni Collette and Michael Sheen in principle roles. Both of these terrific actors try valiantly and perform to the rafters with big overblown performances. The central story revolves around a 10 year old wunderkind, Henry. Curious about his parentage, he uncovers some surprising details about his birth. His activist mother (Collette) has a secret, and as Henry pushes toward the truth--they come into contact with Sheen and his daughter. Without giving away too many details, these four create a strange nuclear family with each cast member trying to out-wacky the others. None of it is, in the least, believable which would have been forgivable had I had more fun. Some of the humor is quite dark (which I love), but most of the intended laughs fall flat.

With some of the deadpan sensibilities of Wes Anderson and some of the same peculiarly flawed characters of John Irving (the early scenes of Collette and son reminded me of the flavor of Garp), I really wanted to like "Jesus Henry Christ." It is absolutely the type of movie that I would generally connect with. Something here, though, kept me at a distance. Lee seems to have thrown everything but the kitchen sink into his storyline, and nothing felt grounded. I think there are plenty of good ideas in the movie, they just needed a bit more editing, a bit more focus. And the humor needed to be sharpened. Most attempted laughs derived from shock value instead of cleverness. Consequently, the eccentricities just seemed layered on with little purpose as I never particularly cared about the characters nor laughed along with their exploits. A misfire, for me. KGHarris, 6/12.

4.0 out of 5 stars A Bit All Over the Place But Still..... December 18, 2012

By Eric Sanberg

Director Dennis Lee tackles a lot in this project, and he may have bitten off more than he can chew, but I still enjoyed the heck out this quirky romp.

Here's the scoop. Henry Herman is a genius ten year old, with an eidetic memory, who lives with his mom in Chicago. He finds out through his grand dad that he was a test tube baby. He now sets out to find pops and the adventure leads him to people and places unexpected. The possible candidate as dad is a professor (at the university which Henry is now enrolled) and a sister (maybe half sister) who is twelve years old and screwed up because pops wrote a book about her being lesbian. It's a long, thoughtful and unexpected journey.

Okay. Toni Collette plays the mom. I like her to begin with. I've liked everything I've seen her in. She's good as the radical mom who loves her son and has had a tragic past. She's lost, in one way or another, everyone in her family save for her dad. The camera plays off her face like a concert violinist plays a Stradivarius. Michael Sheen has also been good in everything I've seen him in and he doesn't disappoint here. He's bright but screwed up. He doesn't realize the harm he's done his daughter. He's disconnected. Grad dad is a hoot. A bit coarse perhaps, and almost totally useless at running a house and family, but he's real and comes through in the end. Jason Spevack is a hoot as Henry. He's too bright for his own good but uses his intelligence to work toward good. Then there's Samantha Weinstein as Audrey. With her pale face, almond eyes and straight carrot hair, you can't keep your eyes off her. She's an interesting character who starts hard and softens by the end.

The sets, shooting, editing are all as good as they had to be to get this done. Some of the kooky framing added to the overall oddball appeal. I liked the soundtrack. It has a lot of tunes that well heighten the emotional level of a given scene. As I said, Lee takes on a bit too much, and uses the end to further some of his own agendas. But the plight of the outsider, the question of what actually constitutes family, and coming to grips with one's place in things are all worthy subjects. The end seems tacked on but I liked these people a lot and wanted to see where they were going. I liked this a lot and its quirkiness helped keep me in the game.