Ranking March 2019's Movies From Worst To Best

9. Ben Is Back

Ben Is Back Julia Roberts Lucas Hedges
Lionsgate

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 81% (6.85/10)

Box Office: Despite solid reviews, the $13 million prestige drama failed to pick up much awards traction when it released in the U.S. back in December, and its recent international release hasn't much helped. With a mere $8.9 million worldwide total, this is one of the biggest misses of Julia Roberts' career.

Verdict: A drama carried almost entirely by the strong performances from Lucas Hedges and Julia Roberts, Ben Is Back dabbles in a few too many addiction drama cliches for its own good, but it manages enough genuine emotional gut-punches to basically work.

Don't go in expecting a gritty, fully authentic look at how substance abuse affects family dynamics, but as a broad-skewing attempt to foreground a pervasive issue in American society, it is more effective than not.

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Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.