Downhill (2020)

"It would be great to be able to talk about Downhill without dwelling so much on its source material but remaking Force Majeure with less tension is like remaking The Birds with less birds—people are going to be wondering why."

"A grating, gentrified mess that reflects Ugly Americanisms, both as a production and as cinematic narrative."

"That the stars of Downhill are Will Ferrell and Julia Louis-Dreyfus (otherwise known as Elaine from Seinfeld) tells you that Faxon and Rash aren’t aiming to replicate their source. Their film is nearly half an hour shorter, and lighter in every sense—but despite some promising elements, it never finds a viable identity of its own."

"Listen, if you walk into Downhill expecting a comedy, you'll be disappointed. And if you're hoping for a worthy remake of a great original, you'll be appalled. Seldom has a movie been more presciently named."

"This dreary and disconcertingly unfunny Hollywood knockoff of Sweden's brilliant Force Majeure wastes the talents of Will Ferrell and Julia Louis-Dreyfus and leaves you feeling nothing."

"What's that hurtling down the piste? Another rubbish US remake of a European art-house hit? Actually, no. This version of Force Majeure... isn't quite as wonderfully unsettling, but it's not far off."

""Downhill" is a vacation-gone-wrong comedy that lives up to its ill-advised title."

"One excruciating 11-minute confrontation aside, the conflicts in 'Downhill' lack the necessary messiness."

"The superficial characterisation of a miscast Will Ferrell doesn't help, but the more crippling issue is the filmmakers' fumbling grasp of tone in material that just seems a poor fit."

"While Louis-Dreyfus fares well with the smaller moments, Ferrell doesn't quite convince with a performance that's forever threatening to break out into his more familiar showboat shtick."

"The new movie is a teasing trifle with something real on its mind. But in its winking 86-minute way, it stays true to what gave "Force Majeure" its force."