A drug addicted teenage boy shows up unexpectedly at his family's home on Christmas Eve.A drug addicted teenage boy shows up unexpectedly at his family's home on Christmas Eve.A drug addicted teenage boy shows up unexpectedly at his family's home on Christmas Eve.
- Awards
- 3 wins & 13 nominations
David Zaldívar
- Spencer 'Spider' Webbs
- (as David Zaldivar)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaWhen Peter Hedges was developing the film he had no intention of casting his son Lucas Hedges in the titular role, and had already created a shortlist of other actors he was considering. It was Julia Roberts, who after seeing the younger Hedges in Manchester by the Sea (2016), insisted he be cast.
- GoofsThere is a scene where Julia Roberts' car breaks down. Her son tries to start it but is unsuccessful. He then says we need gas. The next scene they're at a gas station with no explanation as to how they got there. Saying that they needed gas doesn't necessarily mean that the tank is empty. There could easily have been sufficient fuel left to drive to the gas station.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The Late Show with Stephen Colbert: Julia Roberts/Patrick Wilson (2018)
- SoundtracksIn the Bleak Midwinter
Lyrics by Christina Georgina Rossetti
Music by Gustav Holst
(incorrectly attributed as Traditional)
Performed by Church Choir & Dr. Paul-Martin Maki
Featured review
Peter Hedges's "Ben Is Back" is what one might call a Christmas-adjacent movie: it takes place around Christmas but the plot doesn't relate to Christmas. In this case, a woman in a stable family goes home and finds that her son is there after having been in drug treatment. This opens the door to a series of unpleasant events.
Julia Roberts spent much of the 1990s in romantic comedies. This movie is nothing like those. It's got to be one of the grittiest movies of 2018. There were scenes that made me feel as if I was on pins and needles. It's far from the year's greatest movie, but the roughness alone makes it worth seeing.
In the end, the movie's message seems to be that parents must love their children, no matter how low the latter sink. At the very least, they should make an effort to do so. I hope that Hedges keeps turning out movies like this one.
Julia Roberts spent much of the 1990s in romantic comedies. This movie is nothing like those. It's got to be one of the grittiest movies of 2018. There were scenes that made me feel as if I was on pins and needles. It's far from the year's greatest movie, but the roughness alone makes it worth seeing.
In the end, the movie's message seems to be that parents must love their children, no matter how low the latter sink. At the very least, they should make an effort to do so. I hope that Hedges keeps turning out movies like this one.
- lee_eisenberg
- May 26, 2019
- Permalink
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official sites
- Language
- Also known as
- Regresa a mi
- Filming locations
- Sloatsburg, New York, USA(Hayward's Market, Super Seven store)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $13,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $3,703,184
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $80,734
- Dec 9, 2018
- Gross worldwide
- $10,134,204
- Runtime1 hour 43 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1
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