Say Uncle: Critic Reviews

A comedy about a suspected gay pedophile is something even Mel Brooks might balk at, but Say Uncle would have benefited from his ability to turn bad taste into good feature.

Ask yourself: If you saw an unknown, single man repeatedly approach kids in the park, would you be concerned? If so, you may not find Paul, and his unbalanced Peter Pan complex, quite as charming as Paige does.

The politics of homophobia and child molestation receive a badly misjudged tweaking in Queer As Folk star Peter Paige's writing-directing debut, Say Uncle.

Laughless, pointless and downright creepy.

As written and portrayed by Paige, his protagonist comes across a lot less like an oddball, misunderstood naif than he does an irritatingly self-absorbed loser with some serious boundary issues.

[Peter] Paige has created an engaging and insightful entertainment with considerably more substance than most small-budget, independent gay films.

Ultimately, Paul's plight is just not that interesting, and when the neighborhood stridently turns against him, the film veers into absurdity.

Frankly, I wouldn't want him touching my toddler.

Paige's radical approach to this unsettling material tip toes in the echoes of dark absurdity. Say Uncle comes off as an irresponsible, unthinkable and creepy concoction

Paige makes a strong debut as a writer/director with this original black comedy.

A movie that made my skin crawl.

...[the hero is] such a mess that you wouldn't trust him with anything, let alone your kids.

A film that has a lot going for it, including supporting roles by the likes of Kathy Najimy and Melanie Lynskey, Say Uncle -- which lead actor/filmmaker Peter Paige mischaracterizes as a comedy -- nonetheless founders.

Peter Paige's Say Uncle aims to be a dark comedy about the dangers of preconceived ideas, but the movie plays as a broad cartoon that speaks to the peril of having no ideas as a filmmaker.

You'll be begging for mercy well before the end of this self-righteous, thoroughly unsavory 'farce.'

Say Uncle is both a heartbreaking tale of loss, and a cautionary tale to parents out there, and there won't be a dry eye in the house when the film is finished.

Page makes the mistake of arguing a thorny case from the same juvenile perspective of his colossally self-absorbed character.