“Sincerity is not manipulation.”
The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The Answer Man
Comedy · Romance · 2009
Twenty years ago, Arlen Faber wrote a book about spirituality that became wildly popular. These days, he's a curmudgeonly recluse who only enjoys the company of his chiropractor, Elizabeth. As Elizabeth's warmth starts to melt Arlen's cold heart, he comes to realize what love really means.
The Answer Man
“He wrote the book on life's big questions. But the truth is he hasn't got a clue.”
Critical arithmetic
The consensus, allegedly.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
IMDb
6.4 / 10
7.4K votes
Rotten Tomatoes
32 %
Tomatometer
Metacritic
44 / 100
Metascore
TMDB
6.2 / 10
Community rating
External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.
Twenty years ago, Arlen Faber wrote a book about spirituality that became wildly popular. These days, he's a curmudgeonly recluse who only enjoys the company of his chiropractor, Elizabeth. As Elizabeth's warmth starts to melt Arlen's cold heart, he comes to realize what love really means.
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over The Answer Man?
The Sentimental Softie
“You came to feel something, and you will.”
Read their caseThe Cool Ironist
“Feeling things is a little embarrassing.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
Watch in your region.
Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.
Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
John Hindman
Written by
John Hindman
Put The Answer Man on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
“The strings are showing.”
Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.






