Leonard Maltin's Rating :
Should be :
IMDB Rating : 7.4
Rotten Tomatoes Rating : 87%
Rotten Tomatoes Synopsis : Joe Kavanagh is on the wagon, but still raw after some chaotic years of drinking. He is bursting with energy, determined to live life to the fullest and ready to make up for his past mistakes. Sarah Downey is an independent and private woman who lives for her job as a health visitor. When Joe and Sarah meet, neither is ready for a relationship. MY NAME IS JOE is the heartfelt story of an unlikely romance between two very different people. As Joe attempts to manage his new life and budding romance, he contemplates his torrid past, his complex present, and the changes that he needs to make in order to secure a bright future.
Leonard says in his review : "Likable loser Mullan is a recovering alcoholic eking out a life in Glascow, Scotland. Mullan's tentative romance with health-care worker Goodall is worth a look ... and more engaging than the melodramatic turn the story takes involving local thugs."
This movie is arguably Ken Loach's second finest film, after Kes. It is a movie for people who love movies. It works as a comedy, a drama and a love story and it is a very truthful . No Hollywood endings here. Roger Ebert in his review wrote "Often with a film like this you think you know how it has to end. The ending of My Name Is Joe left me stunned. I've rarely seen a film where the conclusion is so unexpected, and yet, in its own way, so logical, and so inevitable."
My Name Is Joe is a great movie that was dismissed by Leonard's really mediocre review and rating.
If you want to see a good, dramatic story about life, love, gangsters and soccer, you should ignore Leonard's rating and go see My Name Is Joe.
