Now Playing
Critics & Publications
Archives: A-Z Index
Advanced Search

Upcoming Release Calendar
Weekend Box Office
Film Awards & Top 10s By Year
All-Time High Scores
All-Time Low Scores
How Metascores Are Calculated
Discuss Film In Our Forums

sort by name

sort by score

53 Australia
33 Bedtime Stories
41 Beverly Hills Chihuahua
67 Bolt
24 Bride Wars
38 Confessions of a Shopaholic
79 Coraline
36 Crossing Over
70 Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The
82 Dark Knight, The
40 Day the Earth Stood Still, The
68 Doubt
31 Fired Up
36 Fly Me to the Moon
41 Four Christmases
34 Friday the 13th
72 Gran Torino
47 He's Just Not That Into You
51 Hotel for Dogs
47 Inkheart
52 International, The
45 Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience
61 Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa
50 Madea Goes to Jail
53 Marley & Me
84 Milk
51 My Bloody Valentine 3-D
29 New in Town
60 Notorious
40 Outlander
39 Paul Blart: Mall Cop
36 Pink Panther 2
36 Push
69 Revolutionary Road
49 Soul Men
30 Spirit, The
17 Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li
50 Taken
53 Tale of Despereaux, The
56 Twilight
30 Unborn, The
77 Under the Sea 3D
44 Underworld: Rise of the Lycans
43 Uninvited, The
56 Valkyrie
70 Vicky Cristina Barcelona
56 Watchmen
46 Yes Man

Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

sort by name

sort by score

76 12
31 American Affair, An
76 Betrayal - Nerakhoon, The
66 Black Balloon, The
49 Blessed Is the Match: The Life and Death of Hannah Senesh
51 Breakfast with Scot
33 Caller, The
44 Chandni Chowk to China
63 Changeling
64 Che
61 Cherry Blossoms
92 Class, The
58 Defiance
45 Delhi 6
43 Donkey Punch
26 Echelon Conspiracy
56 Eleven Minutes
77 Everlasting Moments
66 Examined Life
56 Explicit Ills
66 Fados
45 Fanboys
69 Fear(s) of the Dark
80 Frost/Nixon
86 Gomorrah
40 Good
84 Happy-Go-Lucky
xx Horsemen, The
21 House of the Sleeping Beauties
50 How About You
79 I've Loved You So Long
69 Just Another Love Story
79 Katyn
57 Last Chance Harvey
82 Let the Right One In
17 Lodger, The
58 Luck by Chance
63 Medicine for Melancholy
25 Memorial Day
70 Moscow, Belgium
75 Must Read After My Death
43 Not Easily Broken
xx Objective, The
81 Of Time and the City
34 Otto; or Up with Dead People
55 Phoebe in Wonderland
78 Pray the Devil Back to Hell
82 Rachel Getting Married
58 Reader, The
23 Reunion
65 Scott Walker: 30 Century Man
80 Serbis
49 Shadows
41 Sherman's Way
76 Silent Light
86 Slumdog Millionaire
82 Stranded: I Have Come from a Plane That Crashed on the Mountains
67 Synecdoche, New York
66 Tokyo!
11 Trouble with Romance, The
74 Two Lovers
83 U2 3D
xx Velveteen Rabbit, The
91 Waltz with Bashir
80 Wendy and Lucy
81 Wrestler, The

Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

Not Easily Broken
TriStar Pictures (Sony)


7.6

based on 18 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 3 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

MPAA RATING: PG-13 for sexual references and thematic elements

Starring Morris Chestnut, Taraji P. Henson, Maeve Quinlan, Kevin Hart, Wood Harris, and Jenifer Lewis

Chronicling the story of one couple's love, loss and ultimate faith in one another, Not Easily Broken follows the lives of Dave and Clarice Johnson in their second decade of marriage. Dave's dreams of major league baseball success were dashed by an injury in college, leading him to a steady but unfulfilling career as the head of a small construction firm. Clarice is basking in the glow of real estate stardom, creating a life that revolves around her rise to the top. She has become blind to Dave's needs, the most important being his desire to become a father and start a family with her. Soon Dave and Clarice must face a married couple's most serious questions: are we really meant to be together, and if we are, how do we fight to keep what we have built as man and wife? (Sony Pictures)

GENRE(S):	Drama
WRITTEN BY:	Brian Bird
DIRECTED BY:	Bill Duke
RELEASE DATE:	Theatrical: January 9, 2009
RUNNING TIME:	minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Entertainment Weekly Chris Nashawaty

Laughter through tears is director Bill Duke's M.O., and he hits the bull's-eye of that modest target.

Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips

The film is likable. Its messages, many of them Lord-oriented, are all equally heartfelt.

Boston Globe Wesley Morris

For most of Not Easily Broken, I wondered why the movie wasn't worse. Then I remembered it was directed by the veteran Bill Duke, who applies ample TLC.

San Francisco Chronicle Justin Berton

Unfortunately, for those who do not subscribe to the notion that God's dust smooths a marriage's rough patches, but rather hard work by people do, the message rings hollow.

The Hollywood Reporter Kirk Honeycutt

The actors do what they can with the cards they're dealt but can't overcome the nakedness of the dialogue or the characters' actions. Duke does ensure that the production flows smoothly though. And those frequent injections of comedy do wonders.

The New York Times A.O. Scott

Mr. Duke’s filmmaking is functional at best, and the extreme shifts in emotional tone -- especially a late and disastrous swerve into tragedy -- are handled clumsily in Brian Bird’s script. Yet Not Easily Broken is not easily dismissed. For one thing, the cast is excellent, and for another, its intentions are serious and generous.

Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow

The whole thrust of the movie is to warn black women against emasculating their men.

Chicago Reader Andrea Gronvall

Based on the novel by T.D. Jakes, this is a queasy mix of comedy, melodrama, and self-help spirituality; it's meant to be uplifting, but its profamily message is undercut by its virulently misogynistic treatment of the realtor and her mother (Jenifer Lewis), both too shrewish and controlling to be believed.

Film Threat Stina Chyn

Coupled with decent acting but average cinematography and editing, Not Easily Broken hums more fittingly to the tune of a LifeTime television event.

Washington Post Ann Hornaday

Exerts an unmistakable appeal, thanks to an absorbing story and fine performances from Morris Chestnut and Taraji P. Henson.

Los Angeles Times Glenn Whipp

The movie may be preaching to the choir -- and every inch of it feels like a sermon -- but it's a pretty decent homily, heartfelt and strongly delivered by a committed cast.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker

Director Bill Duke may believe the message but he never invests himself in the characters or their story, which becomes an illustrated lesson with reflective interludes and comic relief.

USA Today Claudia Puig

Well-acted and involving.

LA Weekly Scott Foundas

These resourceful actors -- to say nothing of the audience -- deserve better.

New York Post Kyle Smith

As bland as the Kenny G-style smooth jazz its hero listens to in moments of distress.

Austin Chronicle Theresa Everline

It's fascinating how an innocuous film can suddenly flare up into offensive claptrap.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Nathan Rabin

For a film shamelessly trumpeting the importance of staying together through the hard times, Broken makes a disconcertingly convincing case for divorce.

TV Guide Perry Seibert

Those looking for genuine drama should probably look elsewhere.

The average user rating for this movie is 7.6 (out of 10) based on 3 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

doozied real gave it a10:
The movie was fantastico. I enjoyed every scene of the movie. excellent perfecto. It's motivated me to by the book. I goota get it. It captured al audiences, It wasn't just black.

JadeInTheATL gave it a7:
One might expect preachy, but instead just life affirming. With the exception of the Mother-In-Law the characters are realistically written. The script creaks a bit as some scenes don't flow from the narrative but drop in like they were cut and pasted. It could have benefited from a few more re-writes. Bill Duke's direction is a bit choppy at times, but mostly well paced and thankfully unobstrusive. In a way an anti-soap opera, in that characters are not above temptation but are capable of resisting it. A Spanglish-lite.

Discuss this movie in our forums

Return to top of page

Not Easily Broken TriStar Pictures (Sony)

Not Easily Broken
TriStar Pictures (Sony)