“Pretension is kept at bay by the fact that whenever someone is holding court, the others in the scene barely seem to be listening.”

“…one of those laser-sharp character portraits with such an incisive bead on its central figure that you sit, transfixed, by his every move.”

“It’s astonishing, and a bit sad really, how prescient Real Life is.”

“…mixes the documentary format with fantasy elements to create some fantastically funny stuff.”

“Krzysztof Kieslowski waits until the final installment to really show us his sense of humor.”

“A playful de-romanticizing of the detective genre…”

“…a witty, bleak and affectionate riff on the gumshoe genre.”

“…a withering send-up of our kid-obsessed culture, in which childhood has been reimagined as a procession of parent-directed accomplishments.”

“…satirizes the fact that our increasingly integrated culture has in some ways only heightened the reliance on dismissive shorthand.”

“…never quite generates the comic flow its story needs.”