Claysaba Excellent, Without a doubt!!

Fairaher The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

Mandeep Tyson The acting in this movie is really good.

Haven Kaycee It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

Michael Ledo The story centers around TJ after his mother has died as he and his dad attempt to get their life back to normal. TJ is a bad luck kid who is not only depressed, but bullied. Hesher, an anarchist, bullies his way into TJ's life and shows up at improbable times, almost as an imaginary alter ego. The writer attempts to shock the audience with the audacity of Hesher's acts as well as his crudeness, which I thought didn't work as well...especially the idiotic scene where he is talking about granny rapers, or his "perverted metaphor." The inability of the author to create audacity without constant crudeness shows a weakness.The actors did an excellent job. There were many scenes you sit and ask yourself, in a good way, "What just happened here?" Or "What the heck is he doing now?" Life as usual falls to its least common denominator as the grief stricken family starts to imitate the anarchist ways, which seem to lack consequences in this film. Parts of the film were excellently done, while other scenes were weak. I suppose the ending of the film was supposed to make us feel good about the whole thing, but it doesn't compensate enough. Personally I think that if they toned down the crudeness of Hesher and put in Zack Garifalakis in that role the movie could have been a box office smash.Normally I love these indie style quirky comedies, perhaps I have seen too many of them to enjoy this one to its fullest. And what the heck was Natalie Portman doing in this film?Excessive F-bomb use, crudeness.

sahubbell3 Like other reviewers, I'm a HUGE JG-L fan. And Natalie Portman, of course. The whole cast does a great job, so my intense dislike of this movie has nothing to do with them.I found this movie to be ugly, ridiculous, and pointless. And if there's anything comedic about it, I've apparently had a brain aneurysm because I'm totally missing that part.The premise of "Hesher" is ludicrous as presented. Sure, it can be done - it has been done. "Down and Out in Beverly Hills', anyone? "What About Bob?" Remember? Taking a farcical approach to the "stranger upends family" trope is fine when it's a comedy. But a big part of the formula is that the stranger has to have at least a FEW redeeming qualities. If the stranger is a sociopathic character like Hesher, then it seems like the film would fit more naturally into a drama/horror genre'. Because I've got to tell you - I didn't crack a smile during this movie. Not ONCE.Every character is pathetic or repulsive. Every action taken is ugly and violent. The setting is ugly and DEPRESSING (then again, I've never liked SoCal.) And the seminal figure - dead mom - is only known by one flashback scene, supposedly the day she was killed in a car accident. She is seen as a warm, supportive mother and wife. But even that heartwarming vision doesn't comport with the rest of the movie. We're supposed to believe in a two-month span that Dad has grown a massively bushy beard, become a pill-popper, and that he and the kid moved into sick, dotty grandma's trashy and cramped house? We're supposed to think that TJ was a relatively normal kid prior to mom's death, then suddenly becomes the victim of a pathologically vicious bully - and no adult knows or cares about it? (I am not counting Hesher because I'm not sure he does count as an adult.) TJ has access to wads of cash via ATM (why???) and chooses to try and buy the wrecked car - even though he knows he can't - instead of offering check-out girl more than $2 when she can't even pay her RENT? Seriously, whaaa? Not everything in a movie has to make sense, but in "Thresher", NOTHING makes sense. The "message" it seems the audience is supposed to take away can be had in 25 other, much better movies.Sorry, JG-L, most of your projects are fantastic. But this one is a swing and a miss!

SnoopyStyle TJ lost his mother. His father Paul (Rainn Wilson) is despondent. They're living in his grandmother (Piper Laurie)'s home. He breaks a window bringing the cops to a construction sign where Hesher (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is squatting. Hesher is displaced and decides to squat in the family's garage. Nicole (Natalie Portman) rescues TJ from school bully Dustin.There is a lot of bitterness and despondency. Gordon-Levitt is great as the anarchist character. There is some humor. There are some poignant moments. It is not sentimental or a standard comedy. This is more like the anarchist Hesher, willing to burn everything down. It's an unique character and I like every one of the adult actors. The little kid isn't the most charismatic.

Red Queen Unforgivably irresponsible and altogether inappropriate, Hesher is a young male's rebel fantasy. But it's not quite typical. Or entirely forgettable. The story unfolded as a series of non-sensical disappointments, but I respect this movie for two reasons. I have to admit it did keep me guessing, and ultimately demonstrated some comedic genius - at the end - even though it was nauseatingly egotistical.While I didn't appreciate the infinitely crass script, the casting and acting were superb. The whole movie was just so emulsified in obscene discourtesy, the little twist at the end was by no means worth it. BUT I still have to recommend it if you like dark comedy and adolescent male vulgarity.I'd still love to read what's so great about it...