Johnson’s made a film that can’t be put into any one box, which constantly keeps you on your toes.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Nov 21, 2024

Kendrick is sorely underutilized, but then, most of the characters are–there for a joke or an emotional statement and then faded into the background when Johnson decides he no longer needs them.

| Original Score: 5/10 | Oct 7, 2024

Self Reliance is a film with a horror-movie premise that's played as straight comedy, giving it a disjointed feel. The jokes are funny, though, while the action is just silly enough without sliding into farce.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 22, 2024

Self Reliance works best as a laugh-out-loud comedy when crazy things are happening, but its exploration of the underlying seriousness of it all — while intriguing — isn’t nearly as potent.

| Original Score: B | Jul 23, 2024

Any film with Biff Wiff doing the Biff Wiff and Andy Samberg playing himself is good with us.

| Jul 3, 2024

Johnson has a great feel for comic timing and delivery, working in the same aura as Jay and Mark Duplass. Yet he has a distinct oddball flavor all his own, melding deadpan with the absurd, resulting in some genuinely laugh-out-loud funny scenes.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Mar 4, 2024

The film’s early nonsense is so much fun that I wish Johnson could have recaptured it by the end.

| Feb 8, 2024

With the reflective moments only doing so much to enhance the character, I did find a lot to enjoy in Tommy’s attempts to find the holes to help him survive and the challenges they present.

| Original Score: 6/10 | Feb 8, 2024

An improv-y comedy that never manages to be as thrilling as it wants to be.

| Feb 1, 2024

A film can joke about mental health, but it should never be the joke.

| Original Score: 4/10 | Jan 31, 2024

Despite the film's title, the supporting cast helps Johnson out immensely in Self Reliance, as most of the comedy comes from their disbelief in what Thomas claims to be happening to him.

| Jan 30, 2024

Like the show that turned Johnson into a star, “Self Reliance” is usually funny enough and charming enough to overcome sometimes weak ideas, though occasionally it’s a close call.

| Original Score: B- | Jan 29, 2024

Johnson sticks with the kind of character he knows best, but that works to the advantage of his charming directorial debut.

| Original Score: 7/10 | Jan 20, 2024

It's a bright enough first step as a filmmaker for Johnson that I’m curious to see where he takes things behind the camera and as a performer

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jan 19, 2024

...a somewhat hit-and-miss comedy...

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Jan 19, 2024

There are times when it feels like the product of a first-time director actively working to find his footing behind the camera, but it’s a hopeful movie in both its message and for Johnson’s potential career as a filmmaker.

| Jan 17, 2024

... if you’re a fan of Johnson (and if you’re not, why are you here?), Self Reliance has its charms, particularly those stemming from the actor’s near-perfect comic timing and delivery.

| Original Score: B- | Jan 15, 2024

Self Reliance misses the mark when the movie reaches the finale – abandoning the promise Johnson made to his audience. One that’s tepid and limps to the finish despite well-intentioned themes of individualism.

| Original Score: 5/10 | Jan 15, 2024

The biggest disappointment of [the film] is that it doesn’t go far enough – whether it’s in the thrills, nuttiness, or romance. We want it to push forward, to really take things to an extreme, but it doesn’t quite get there.

| Original Score: B- | Jan 14, 2024

“Self Reliance” is a promising first feature for Johnson, one that gives hope that he’ll get the ending as right as the rest of the script next time.

| Original Score: 7/10 | Jan 13, 2024