Petunia | Rotten Tomatoes

Petunia

Released Jun 23, 2012

1 hr. 48 min.

Comedy

Drama

List

20%

5 Reviews

Tomatometer

36%

100+ Ratings

Audience Score

Brothers Charlie (David Rasche), Adrian and Michael (Christine Lahti) try to unlearn everything their psychoanalyst parents have taught them about life, as their family unit teeters on the edge of a collapse.

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Audience Member

I found this absolute torture. Absolutely one of the worst movies I have seen this year. Horrible, vile unlikeable characters. The main storyline is homosexual based ( two guys) . Thora Birch character is a complete bitch, Christine Lahti I have never liked. It might be her Celine Dion shaped face or her sassy gob, but I cant take to her. , All the male actors were non entities complete Z Listers (including one of the actors from American Pie). In its running time close to 2 hours long (seemed like 5 hours). Only redeeming highlight was Brittany Snow. Unfunny piece of crap.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

01/16/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Ash Christian's film should not work. A year in the life of an eccentric intellectual well-heel'd NY family and all the wacky people and things they get up to! More or less this is what the movie is about. In other words -- this is territory that has been covered multiple times with varying degrees of success. The thing is that Ash Christian paces the film well, has an exceptionally strong cast and he somehow manages to make "the familiar" just enough different to be entertaining. Just as characters and situations threat to verge into "annoyance" -- Christian's little film snaps like the aversion-therapy wrist rubberband one of the characters continually pulls to suppress urges -- the characters and situations reveal truths that lend something unexpected to the movie. Christine Lahti delivers a frantic, inappropriately hilarious and somehow realistic performance that aids the film's sometimes tired ideas. But the real magic in the movie belongs to two of the most underrated actors working in film, Tobias Segal and Brittany Snow. These two characters run the risk of being the most "cloying" within quirky Petunia Family Universe. But both Segal and Snow are so comically-gifted and share that magic screen presence that makes us like them. And both are naturally funny actors. I had never heard of this film. I decided to rent it via iTunes because I was curious to see what Thora Birch has been up to. She and her father are two of the movie's producers. Birch has a crucial role in the story, but her character is more in the background and serves as a catalyst. I suspect that Thora Birch is probably the most talented actor involved. Luck in Planet Hollywood Logic has not worked in her favor for over a decade. After delivering two amazing performances in "American Beauty" and even more so in "Ghost World" she seems to have been pushed into the world of B-grade movies. It is a tragic truth. I'm sorry but Scarlett Johansson has lucked into the place that should have gone to Birch. I'm not trying to dismiss Johansson, but her origin toward stardom will forever be linked to Birch and "Ghost World" --- both actors are beautiful and have refused to give up their curves to conform to the lollipop -headed stick figure actors. But Birch is clearly the more versatile actor. And I think it reflects her intelligence to opt for a smaller role because it is the one that makes the most sense for her. That is a call most actor/producers would not make. This movie does not re-invent the wheel, but it is highly entertaining. It reminded me a bit of the early work of Don Roos. The goal is to entertain, but not never requires you to drop you IQ to enjoy it. If you're looking to laugh and think a bit, this film is a safe bet.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/22/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I found this mildly entertaining; It got more serious, and I found it mildly better. Brittany Snow is always adorable.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/17/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Disappointingly diffuse but it always good to see Christine Lahti in a substantial role.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/27/23

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Audience Member

Occasionally amusing but ultimately a fairly run-of-the-mill dysfunctional family comedy with outlandish characters and characterisations at the expense of reality and dramatic logic. Some characters are just too quirky for their own good and comes across as more retarded than neurotic or repressed (which I believe was the writers' intentions). The film feels disjointed and the comedy a little forced at times. It isnt a terrible film per se and probably will fare OK on a small screen - for example, it isnt a bad choice for a friday night DVD because it is fun but fairly forgettable, like the pizzas and beers you are going to have with it when you watch it with your mates.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/27/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Showing as part of LLGFF this equally heart warming and cringe worthy comedy drama features a couple of familiar faces from TV and indie cinema. Highly recommended if you can get returns as all showings are sold out. The director is cute too. He's here in town until Wedsnesday ;-)

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/15/23

Full Review

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Ash Christian

Director

Tobias Segal

Charlie Petunia

Thora Birch

Vivian Petunia

Christine Lahti

Felicia Petunia

Brittany Snow

Robin McDougal

Michael Urie

George McDougal

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Neil Genzlinger

New York Times

It's possible to make a great movie out of family dysfunction, but this one is too short on insight to rank with the best of the genre.

Rated: 2/5

Jun 28, 2013

Full Review

Joe Neumaier

New York Daily News

The movie is never deeper than the average sitcom episode ... which makes Lahti's A-game that much more valuable.

Rated: 1/5

Jun 27, 2013

Full Review

Rex Reed

Observer

Petunia augurs more titillation than it delivers and only works occasionally.

Rated: 2/4

Jun 26, 2013

Full Review

Richard Propes

TheIndependentCritic.com

With honesty, conviction, humor, and insight, Christian and his cast and crew have created what is easily one of summer 2013's best films.

Rated: 4.0/4.0

Sep 19, 2020

Full Review

David Noh

Film Journal International

Dysfunctional-family farce which, as a comedy, doesn't function at all.

Jun 28, 2013

Full Review

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Synopsis

Brothers Charlie (David Rasche), Adrian and Michael (Christine Lahti) try to unlearn everything their psychoanalyst parents have taught them about life, as their family unit teeters on the edge of a collapse.

Director: Ash Christian
Executive Producer: Michael Corso, John Delaney, Roger Dowd, Branca Ferrazo
Screenwriter: Ash Christian, Theresa Bennett
Production Co: What The Heck Productions, Cranium Entertainment, Ironclad Pictures, Yale Productions
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 23, 2012, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 10, 2016

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