Gigantic

Lonely and eccentric mattress salesman Brian (Paul Dano) is looking to adopt a Chinese baby when he meets an equally peculiar girl called Happy (Zooey Deschanel), with whom he embarks on a faltering romance. John Goodman also stars in Matt Aselton's quirky comedy as Happy's wealthy, overbearing father.

Tom Huddleston, Time Out: It's not that writer-director Matt Aselton's film lacks charm or insight. It's just that the issues which preoccupy him - urban ennui, guilty lust, impossible love, shambolic indie rock - also fascinate just about every other white American twentysomething with a camera. (Verdict: 3 stars out of 5)

Stephen Holden, New York Times: The white lab rats shown struggling for survival in a fish tank in the opening scene of Gigantic are more than metaphors for the timid, flailing characters in this serious comedy about the children of privilege. With its off-centre dialogue and upscale industrial settings, [the film] strains to be original. But beneath its indie affectations it is really another contemplation of generational misunderstanding.

Angie Errigo, Empire: Dano and Deschanel glue the scattershot material together by suggesting much more emotional depth and character nuance than the screenplay accounts for. But too many interesting thought-processes, subplots, characters and bizarre details are abandoned before they add up to anything. And the distracting determination to be as quirky as possible at every turn takes away from the potential for genuine humanity or meaning. (Verdict: 3 stars out of 5) ·