Synopsis
A small town waitress gets a nail accidentally lodged in her head causing unpredictable behavior that leads her to Washington, DC. Sparks fly when she meets a clueless young senator who takes up her cause - but what happens when love interferes with what you stand for?
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Cast
- Jessica BielAlice Eckle
- Jake GyllenhaalHoward Birdwell
- James MarsdenScott
- Catherine KeenerRep. Pam Hendrickson
- Paul ReubensEdwin
- Kirstie AlleyAunt Rita
- James BrolinSpeaker Buck McCoy
- Tracy MorganKeyshawn
- Malinda WilliamsRakeesha
- Kurt FullerReverend Norm
- 50
The Dissolve
Accidental Love isn’t very good—and might never have been very good, judging from the general air of desperation—but much of it is identifiably Russell’s work, and its scattered best moments recall Huckabees’ inspired loopiness. - 42
The Playlist
Accidental Love is mostly a mess, a curiosity for fans, and a mangled misfire you'd understand anyone hoping to omit from their CV. - 42
The A.V. Club
To be fair to whoever refashioned Accidental Love from the abandoned scraps of Nailed, there’s little reason to believe that the ideal, untroubled version of the material would have been a comedic masterstroke. - 40
The Hollywood Reporter
Russell pulled off some outrageous moments in I Heart Huckabees, the feature he made before this film, but the evidence here suggests Nailed had issues even before the money ran out. - 30
Variety
The disparate tones never gel, and the movie has an airless, stop-and-go feel, as if a studio-audience laugh track were intended but never inserted. - 25
RogerEbert.com
Given Russell’s involvement and a fairly solid cast that includes Jake Gyllenhaal and Catherine Keener, just how awful could it be? Really awful. Unwatchably awful. As in, “Give it the Razzie now and be done with it” awful. - 20
New York Daily News
The movie is played fast but lacks wit. The script, written by Kristin Gore — daughter of Al, and author of the book on which it’s based — mistakes frantic for funny. - 20
New York Magazine (Vulture)
It’s something of a catastrophe.
