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Simon Pegg in Hector and the Search for Happiness (2014)

Metacritic reviews

Hector and the Search for Happiness

29

Metascore

28 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
  • 50
    Village VoiceAmy Nicholson
    Village VoiceAmy Nicholson
    Hector is trying to say something true about a generation of quietly dissatisfied demi-adults who are terrified to take emotional risks. At least it left its comfort zone and tried.
  • 40
    EmpireOlly Richards
    EmpireOlly Richards
    Despite the gusto its star brings to the role, it's hard to ride shotgun on Hector's voyage of discovery.
  • 40
    Time Out LondonCath Clarke
    Time Out LondonCath Clarke
    Simon Pegg plays the world’s most unconvincing psychiatrist in this fluffy, irritating Brit comedy.
  • 40
    New York Daily NewsJoe Neumaier
    New York Daily NewsJoe Neumaier
    Hector wants to connect to our inner child, but it feels more like a long story from a good-hearted but dull grandparent.
  • 40
    The New York TimesBen Kenigsberg
    The New York TimesBen Kenigsberg
    Mr. Pegg, normally a live wire, makes an affable hero, but the movie often forces him into blandly earnest mugging.
  • 20
    CineVueJamie Neish
    CineVueJamie Neish
    If there's a positive to be taken away from Hector and the Search for Happiness, it's that British cinema doesn't get much worse than this.
  • 20
    The TelegraphRobbie Collin
    The TelegraphRobbie Collin
    What distinguishes the film from last year’s backpacking adventure, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, apart from its lobotomised worldview and charred, corroded soul, are Hector’s philosophical musings – “people who are afraid of death are afraid of life,” is one – that pop up on screen in a handwritten font whenever a lesson has been learnt.
  • 20
    VarietyJustin Chang
    VarietyJustin Chang
    Happiness means steering clear of Hector and the Search for Happiness.
  • 10
    The Hollywood ReporterLeslie Felperin
    The Hollywood ReporterLeslie Felperin
    The film manages, impressively, to be both crushingly banal and offensive in its use of cultural stereotypes. Watching it is like being brutally violated by a greeting card.
  • 0
    New York PostLou Lumenick
    New York PostLou Lumenick
    Even with appearances by such dependable performers as Toni Collette, Stellan Skarsgård, Christopher Plummer and Jean Reno, the interminable Hector and the Search for Happiness will most likely inspire audiences to search for the exit door.
  • See all 28 reviews on Metacritic.com
  • See all external reviews for Hector and the Search for Happiness

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