30WEST
Black Bear Pictures
Color Force
LD Entertainment
Lionsgate
Not part of a collection.
Ben Is Back
One family. One day.
19-year-old Ben Burns unexpectedly returns home to his family's suburban home on Christmas Eve morning. Ben's mother, Holly, is relieved and welcoming but wary of her son staying clean. Over a turbulent 24 hours, new truths are revealed, and a mother's undying love for her son is tested as she does everything in her power to keep him safe.
- Original title
- Ben Is Back
- Language
- EN
- Country
- US
- Budget
- $13,000,000
- Revenue
- $12,616,995
CinemaSerf
Jul 22, 2023 · via TMDB
"Ben" (Lucas Hedges) arrives at his mother's home on Christmas eve and she is delighted. "Holly" (Julia Roberts) and her daughter "Ivy" (Kathryn Newton) know that he has a problem, though. He's a drug addict and has only recently managed to go for seven days without using. A Christmas carol service and an happy Christmas beckon for all if only he can stay sober but his erstwhile dealer has other plans and using the boy's dog as bait, entices him into one last delivery that has everyone racing around before something tragic happens. It's all rather bleak, this, with neither Hedges nor Roberts really having much to work with aside from the rather depressingly presented subject matter. Perhaps this will resonate more with those who have experienced some of the traumas addiction can cause, and this story certainly has an authentic (television) look to it, but there are plenty of better put together stories of recovery (or not) out there that reach out to the uninformed and unfamiliar in a more constructive fashion - and this just rather slotted in mid-table. I like Hedges, he has something natural about him - but here they are both rather mediocre in a rather mediocre melodrama that doesn't really develop the characters or the underlying threads of the story anywhere near enough.
User reviews courtesy of TMDB.
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Julia Roberts
Holly Burns
Lucas Hedges
Ben Burns
Courtney B. Vance
Mr. Beeby
Kathryn Newton
Ivy Burns
Rachel Bay Jones
Beth Conyers
David Zaldivar
Spencer 'Spider' Webbs
Alexandra Park
Cara K.
Michael Esper
Clayton
Tim Guinee
Phil
Myra Lucretia Taylor
Sally
Kristin Griffith
Mrs. Crane
Jack Davidson
Dr. Crane
Mia Fowler
Lacey Beeby
Jakari Fraser
Liam Burns-Beeby
Cameron Scott Roberts
James Lamson
Jeff Auer
Maggie's Dad
Henry Stram
Mr. Richman
Bill Buell
Dairy Farmer
Sandra Caldwell
Customer
Nathalie Carvalho
Lay Reader
Emily Cass McDonnell
Bobette Parker
Marquise Vilson
Leon B.
Melissa van der Schyff
Robin Striem
Jocelyn Bioh
Nicole Hill
Gamze Ceylan
Pharmacist
Leon Addison Brown
Willie G.
Crystal Bock
Jessie
Rosalie Tenseth
Officer Reidy
Michael David Baldwin
Officer Wheeler
Elwaldo Baptiste
Churchgoer (uncredited)
Rich Campbell
Recovering Addict (uncredited)
John Cashin
Doppelgänger (uncredited)
Teddy Cañez
Officer Thomas (uncredited)
Rosemary Howard
Christmas Service Congregant (uncredited)
Leo Orgil
Nativity Scene Child (uncredited)
Sammy Peralta
Mexican Thug (uncredited)
Jessica VanOss
Mall Shopper (uncredited)
Andy Eklund
Art Direction
Teddy Blanks
Title Designer
Stuart Dryburgh
Director of Photography
Melissa Toth
Costume Design
Shawnna Thibodeau
Stunt Double
Blaise Corrigan
Stunts
Peter Hedges
Director
Bernard Telsey
Casting
Gabrielle Mahon
Co-Producer
Dan Friedkin
Executive Producer
Brad Simpson
Producer
Nina Jacobson
Producer
Peter Hedges
Producer
Teddy Schwarzman
Producer
Gabrielle Mahon
Unit Production Manager
Susan Jacobs
Music Supervisor
Dickon Hinchliffe
Original Music Composer
Peter Hedges
Writer
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Grandview, U.S.A.
Oct 12, 2018
Miami Film Festival
Dec 7, 2018
