''Splinterheads'' is a 2009 American

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a sub-genre of comedy and Romance novel, romance fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount all obstacles. Ro ...

film written and directed by Brant Sersen and starring

Thomas Middleditch Thomas Steven Middleditch (born March 10, 1982) is a Canadian actor. He is known for his role as Richard Hendricks in the HBO series ''Silicon Valley'' (2014–2019), earning a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in ...

Rachael Taylor Rachael May Taylor (born 11 July 1984) is an Australian actress and model. Her first lead role was in the Australian television series ''headLand'' (2005–2006) as Sasha Forbes. She then made the transition to Hollywood, appearing in films in ...

Christopher McDonald Christopher McDonald (born February 15, 1955) is an American actor. McDonald is best known for playing the villainous professional golfer Shooter McGavin in the 1996 comedy '' Happy Gilmore'', a role he’d later reprise in 2025’s sequel '' H ...

and

Lea Thompson Lea Katherine Thompson (born May 31, 1961) is an American actress, singer, dancer and director. She is best known for her roles as Lorraine Baines-McFly in the ''Back to the Future'' film trilogy (1985–1990), Beverly Switzler in ''Howard t ...

. The film opened in limited release in the United States on November 6, 2009. The film is about a young man, Justin Frost (Middleditch), who falls in love with Galaxy (Taylor), a splinterhead (someone who works at a carnival but is not a carny). The two go on their share of

Geocaching Geocaching (, ) is an outdoor recreational activity, in which participants use a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver or mobile device and other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers, called ''geocaches'' or ''caches'', at sp ...

adventures and in the end start

dating Dating is a stage of Romance (love), romantic relationships in which individuals engage in activity together, often with the intention of evaluating each other's suitability as a partner in a future intimate relationship. It falls into the cate ...

. This aspect of the movie has caused it to develop a cult following among those who do

geocaching Geocaching (, ) is an outdoor recreational activity, in which participants use a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver or mobile device and other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers, called ''geocaches'' or ''caches'', at sp ...

as a hobby. Schuylar Croom of the band

He Is Legend He Is Legend is an American alternative metal band from Wilmington, North Carolina. It was founded in 2003 by high school friends. The band's current lineup is frontman Schuylar Croom, guitarist Adam Tanbouz, bassist Matty Williams, and drummer ...

makes a cameo in the film.

Reception

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website

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the film has a score of 27% based on reviews from 11 critics, with an average rating of 7.5/10. Nick Schager of ''

Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New Yor ...

'' gave ''Splinterheads'' .5 stars out of 4, explaining his reasoning as "Despite positioning itself as a ''

Napoleon Dynamite ''Napoleon Dynamite'' is a 2004 American Independent film, independent Coming-of-age story, coming-of-age comedy film produced by Jeremy Coon, Chris Wyatt (producer), Chris Wyatt and Sean C. Covel (producer), Sean Covel, written by Jared and J ...

''-style comedy about a spazzy social retard, he filmseems to have misplaced most of its jokes". ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

''s Peter Debruge criticized the film for "Attempt ng to compensate for its too-familiar romantic setup by defining its characters through idiosyncratic hobbies and traits". Chris Nashawaty of ''Entertainment Weekly'' gave the film a "B−" and called the film "a quirkier ''Adventureland (film)">Adventureland''" which, according to him, "never rises above mildly amusing". Jeannette Catsoulis of ''The New York Times'' called ''Splinterheads'' "a shaggy comedy with more heart than heft". According to Nick Pinkerton of ''The Village Voice'', the film "[is] another tale of an overgrown kid accepted for his sweet, stammering self and nurtured out of his cocoon".

References

External links

* * 2009 romantic comedy films 2009 films American romantic comedy films Films scored by John Swihart 2000s English-language films 2000s American films English-language romantic comedy films {{2000s-US-film-stub