The Adults was one of the best surprises of 2023: an indie-spirited film somehow sponsored by a studio, with three of the best performances of the year.

| Mar 22, 2024

The Adults is a comedy-drama that doesn’t seem to deliver much of either, and that gray, in-between state just isn’t appealing anymore.

| Oct 4, 2023

The performances are all distinctly sad and believable, and Cera expertly channels his onscreen neuroses into a suspiciously over-controlled, serious-man façade.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Sep 28, 2023

Some action results, but for the most part The Adults meanders rather than grows, eventually ending up in a place that shows a degree of hope without much excitement.

| Sep 11, 2023

It feels both familiar and really quirky and odd. Cera and the cast are really committed to the bit.

| Sep 7, 2023

Teens who do watch may find their minds leaping to how they'll interact with their siblings (if they have any) once they're grown up.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 30, 2023

Michael Cera, Hannah Gross and Sophia Lillis are all terrific in a character study existing within the limbo feelings of young adults who have not thawed enough to put their self validation aside for the betterment of their loved ones

| Original Score: 3/4 | Aug 23, 2023

While The Adults lurches from amusing to cringeworthy in tone, it successfully zeroes in on the raw emotions that both bind and separate this quirky trio that can’t seem to harmonize again.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 22, 2023

Still grieving over the death of their mother, a trio of quirky siblings reunite for an unexpected long weekend, but old habits may threaten to upend their chance to come together over their shared trauma.

| Aug 21, 2023

The Adults tries your patience as relatable but unlikable characters engage in strange behavior with annoying song and dance routines. To say this gets old and irritating quickly is an understatement.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Aug 21, 2023

A sad but affecting character study that has nothing like a plot but instead ruminates on loss, distrust and misunderstanding within a fraying family.

| Aug 19, 2023

Michael Cera delivers subtle greatness as an eccentric man visiting his sisters after years away.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Aug 18, 2023

A warm, wry dramedy that finds fresh resonance and insights from the story of three siblings each trying to move forward in their own way.

| Aug 18, 2023

There is so much to feel from [Defa's] take on dysfunction, including how it presents siblings who can sing and dance in unison but are not friends. "The Adults" is defined by such crucial touches.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Aug 18, 2023

Exploring the subtle nuances in sibling estrangement, this sharply observed drama embraces awkwardness and insecurity without providing an easy path to reconciliation or catharsis.

| Aug 18, 2023

Defa’s tight and tidy focus on communication — mostly verbal, sometimes role play (“Hug me like you haven’t seen me for three years,” Rachel instructs Eric) — adds a smart layer to this otherwise familiar tale of estrangement.

| Aug 18, 2023

These are inside jokes that the viewer has no inside context for, rendering them mostly meaningless, annoying, and the opposite of funny

| Original Score: 2/5 | Aug 17, 2023

It’s a sly, subtle screenplay and the trio of actors -- Cera, Hannah Gross and Sophia Lillis -- are perfectly cast and make us feel the familial tension, stress and fallout.

| Aug 17, 2023

Redactive and redundant in the story it’s trying to tell, with very little in terms of actual entertainment value

| Original Score: 4.5/10 | Aug 17, 2023

It's all so bittersweet and, unfortunately, too shallow...

| Original Score: 2/4 | Aug 17, 2023