Synopsis
A freelance illustrator in New York suffers a quarter-life crisis and leaves his home for the west coast.
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Cast
- Demetri MartinDean
- Gillian JacobsNicky
- Christine WoodsMichelle
- Mary SteenburgenCarol
- Kevin KlineRobert
- Briga HeelanBecca
- Ginger GonzagaJill
- Reid ScottBrett
- Rory ScovelEric
- Meryl HathawayAlissa
Recommendations
- 88
Chicago Sun-Times
Writer-director Martin does a stellar job of balancing sketch-comedy style laughs with genuinely touching moments. - 75
The Film Stage
by staying true to his offbeat brand of comedy, Martin has something compelling to say about moving on amidst — or perhaps because of — the humor of life. - 75
Boston Globe
Stay patient through those Seinfeldian stretches in which Martin isn’t so much acting as performing, and you’ll be treated to the bonus of some surprising emotional depth and poignancy. - 70
The Hollywood Reporter
Martin's Dean is more than funny enough to earn its keep, a gentle misfit tale that only gets baldly therapeutic at the very end. - 63
Chicago Tribune
Martin's a smooth enough director to make fuller and more ambitious pictures than Dean. This one's a promising start. - 58
The A.V. Club
Dean turns out to be quite touching, in retrospect. If only it were funny, clever, or in any other way particularly inspired from moment to moment. - 50
Variety
Martin stays within his comfort zone as a New York-based illustrator still processing his mother’s death, but the tyro helmer struggles to square his distinct minimalist charm with the second-hand influence of standard-bearers like Woody Allen and Wes Anderson. - 50
Slant Magazine
One has to wade through a lot of eye-rolling comic marginalia to get to the film's pained beating heart.
