Movie Review for Tadpole

Summary: Beautiful, sophisticated women are all over Oscar Grubman. He is sensitive and compassionate, speaks French fluently, is passionate about Voltaire, and thinks the feature that tells the most about a woman is her hands. On the train home from Chauncey Academy for the Thanksgiving weekend, Oscar confides in his best friend that he has plans for this vacation--he will win the heart of his true love. But there is one major problem--Oscar's true love is his stepmother Eve. Oscar is certain that he could be a better mate to Eve than his work-obsessed father. He fails to win Eve's heart and is consequently dejected. Oscar's path to his true love is further crossed by Diane, Eve's best friend who, one night while wearing Eve's borrowed perfumed scarf, offers him temporary comfort in an unconventional tryst. For Diane, Oscar fills a void in her life. For Oscar, Diane is somewhat of a distraction, as his continued pursuit of Eve leads to an unexpected resolution.

                         Reviews of Tadpole
By Brian Webster of Apollo Guide (7/0)
            Smart and fun, but far more witty than it is wise.

By Harvey S. Karten of Compuserve (7/0)
            Lighten up, Sophocles! Oedipal conflicts are nothing more than a subject for light, comedic ente...

By Arthur Lazere of culturevulture.net (7/0)
            a sweet, gentle, so-light-it-might-float- away-any-moment comedy of urban manners

By Jeff Vice of Deseret News, Salt Lake City (7/0)
            Tadpole may be one of the most appealing movies ever made about an otherwise appalling, and downr...

By Collin Souter of eFilmCritic.com (7/0)
            Stuffy, full of itself, morally ambiguous and nothing to shout about.

By Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly (7/0)
            The surprise of this short and inexpensively made indie (originally shot on digital video) is its...

                         Reviews of Tadpole
By Bruce Westbrook of Houston Chronicle (7/0)
            Tadpole is emblematic of the witless ageism afflicting films: Young is cool, and too young is too...

By Steve Rhodes of Internet Reviews (7/0)
            [An] hilarious romantic comedy.

By Derek Tse of Jam! Movies (7/0)
            If you can get past the taboo subject matter, it will be well worth your time.

By Prairie Miller of Long Island Press (7/0)
            Tadpole may be swimming into risky territory, but it’s delightfully easy to swallow.

By Rene Rodriguez of Miami Herald (7/0)
            A low-budget affair, Tadpole was shot on digital video, and the images often look smeary and blur...

By James Rocchi of Netflix (7/0)
            Celebrated at Sundance, this slight comedy of manners has winning performances and a glossy, glib...

                         Reviews of Tadpole
By Frank Swietek of One Guy's Opinion (7/0)
            More sophisticated and literate than such pictures usually are...an amusing little catch.

By Dennis Schwartz of Ozus' World Movie Reviews (7/0)
            This one is strictly a lightweight escapist film.

By Tyler Hanley of Palo Alto Weekly (7/0)
            In a summer wrought with action adventures and dramatic epics, it's a refreshing change to trust ...

By Jeffrey Wachs of Reel.com (7/0)
            This often-hilarious farce manages to generate the belly laughs of lowbrow comedy without sacrifi...

By Laura Clifford of Reeling Reviews (7/0)
            While the writers resolve Oscar's emotional state a little too easily, the conflict itself is bea...

By Peter Travers of Rolling Stone (7/0)
            Tadpole may be small, but it's something special -- a cheeky comedy knockout.

                         Reviews of Tadpole
By Stephanie Zacharek of Salon.com (7/0)
            A wannabe comedy of manners about a brainy prep-school kid with a Mrs. Robinson complex founders ...

By Rob Blackwelder of SPLICEDWire (7/0)
            ...ripe with New York atmosphere and understated, indelibly human comedic tension.

By Paul Salfen of Supercala.com (7/0)
            If you enjoy more thoughtful comedies with interesting conflicted characters; this one is for you...

By Tony Toscano of Talking Pictures (U.S.) (7/0)
            A delightful coming-of-age story.

By Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone of TheMovieChicks.com (7/0)
            Like Oscar, the movie is a charming and passionate.

By Audrey Rock-Richardson of Tooele Transcript-Bulletin (Utah) (7/0)
            Do we really need a 77-minute film to tell us exactly why a romantic relationship between a 15-ye...

                         Reviews of Tadpole
By Jessica Winter of Village Voice (7/0)
            [Stanford] deftly switches between Oscar's self-assigned roles -- the charming raconteur for Eve,...

By Susan Granger of www.susangranger.com (7/0)
            Tart 'n' spicy sophisticated comedy reminiscent of "The Graduate." Mischievous Bebe Neuwirth is a...

By Vanessa Sibbald of Zap2it.com (7/0)
            Based on a devilishly witty script by Heather McGowan and Niels Mueller, the film gets great laug...

By Phil Villarreal of Arizona Daily Star (3/4) No reference
            While this is no Harold and Maude -- one of the best films about an older woman and younger man -...

By Brent Simon of Entertainment Today (3/4) No reference
            Short and sweet, but also more than anything else slight… Tadpole pulls back from the consequence...

By Ron Wells of Film Threat (3/4) No reference
            A real step forward for the digital video revolution.

                         Reviews of Tadpole
By Marshall Fine of Journal News (Westchester, NY) (3/4) No reference
            Lives up to its billing as a smart, funny coming-of-age comedy.

By Robert W. Butler of Kansas City Star (3/4) No reference
            The players are clearly having a ball, never grasping for laughs but rather generating them throu...

By Hazel-Dawn Dumpert of L.A. Weekly (3/4) No reference
            Neither funny nor moving enough to compare to Rushmore, Murmur of the Heart or any of the other b...

By Bob Strauss of Los Angeles Daily News (3/4) No reference
            smart, funny and just honest enough to provide the pleasures of a slightly naughty, just-above-av...

By Kevin Thomas of Los Angeles Times (3/4) No reference
            Tadpole is a sophisticated, funny and good-natured treat, slight but a pleasure.

By Jan Stuart of Newsday (3/4) No reference
            A sparkling cosmopolitan comedy that plays fast and loose with sacred cows of family values.

                         Reviews of Tadpole
By Richard C. Walls of Orlando Weekly (3/4) No reference
            Its direction, its script, and Weaver's performance as a vaguely discontented woman of substance ...

By Desson Thomson of Washington Post (3/4) No reference
            One of the smartest, most affecting movies of the year.

By John A. Nesbit of ToxicUniverse.com (6/1) Not Reachable
            '...a fast-paced seventy-eight minutes, Tadpole unpretentiously entertains and introduces a brigh...

Movie Distributors
Miramax Films

Production Companies
Dolly Hall Productions
Independent Digital Entertainment (InDigEnt)
IFC Productions

Movie Studios