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When Jeff Tried to Save the World

Play trailer Poster for When Jeff Tried to Save the World 2018 1h 33m Comedy Play Trailer Watchlist
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86% Tomatometer 7 Reviews 68% Popcornmeter 50+ Ratings
When Jeff, the manager of an old-school bowling alley, discovers the owner's plans to sell, he has to use the things around him, including a high school stoner, a perverted janitor, a 90-year-old bowling champion, a sassy kitchen worker, and the occasional drug-induced conversation with Pac-Man, to save it.

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When Jeff Tried to Save the World

Critics Reviews

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Cath Clarke Guardian 04/14/2021
2/5
The actors often look like they're mimicking real feelings. Go to Full Review Matt Fagerholm RogerEbert.com 12/12/2018
3/4
Occasionally the dialogue can be too on-the-nose... yet Goldberg's utter disinterest in condescension is precisely what makes her movie so lovable. Go to Full Review Taylor Baker Drink in the Movies 09/03/2021
55/100
Episode 20: When Jeff Tried To Save The World / Creed II / The Ballad of Buster Scruggs / The World Is Yours / Burning Go to Full Review Richard Propes TheIndependentCritic.com 09/27/2020
3.5/4.0
It's a quiet little story, quirky and sweet and funny and real. Go to Full Review Douglas Davidson Elements of Madness 01/07/2019
4/5
[Kendall] Goldberg's direction, the cinematography, and the sound design channel nostalgia by capturing the feel of gaming ... and how the same lessons we learn from any game can assist us in life. Go to Full Review Danielle Solzman Solzy at the Movies 12/12/2018
Led by the performance of Jon Heder, When Jeff Tried to Save the World is inspiring in the ways it teaches us that change is still okay even if we don't like it. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Jeffrey P @vanillavoodoo1 08/25/2024 It knows what it is and is quaintly amusing, much like a cheap bowling alley or Hot Pockets. See more Antonio S @RT05261875 05/09/2021 Not entirely sure how I feel about this film. Is short for saying it was a good one, and not bad at all to say it wasn't . So it passed the time. See more s r @ScottR 11/23/2020 It had good intentions, but I only saw it for Heder. See more 09/24/2020 I really enjoyed it because of its nuance and it makes the audience care for this guy's life and desire to save a bowling alley. It looks into multi-faucets of his life and has a real heart to it. See more 06/08/2020 The girls from PEN 15, Napoleon Dynamite, a run-down bowling alley, and some banal work dreams all in search of a reason to exist. I couldn’t find it. See more 11/06/2019 I have bowled many times in the bowling center where this was filmed so I was interested in seeing the film. It held my interest as the story line was established but I was disappointed in the pace of advancing the story. It was difficult for me to stay interested enough to watch until the end but I did make it. See more Read all reviews
When Jeff Tried to Save the World

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Cast & Crew

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Kendall Goldberg

Director

Jon Heder

Jeff

Jim O'Heir

Carl

Steve Berg

Frank

Brendan Meyer

Stanford

Maya Erskine

Samantha

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When Jeff Tried to Save the World

When Jeff Tried to Save the World (2018) When Jeff Tried to Save the World (2018) When Jeff Tried to Save the World (2018) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis When Jeff, the manager of an old-school bowling alley, discovers the owner's plans to sell, he has to use the things around him, including a high school stoner, a perverted janitor, a 90-year-old bowling champion, a sassy kitchen worker, and the occasional drug-induced conversation with Pac-Man, to save it.
Director
Kendall Goldberg
Producer
Kendall Goldberg, Jimmy Seargeant, Shane Simmons, Sam Slater
Screenwriter
Rachel Borgo, Kendall Goldberg
Production Co
Burn Later Prods.
Genre
Comedy
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Dec 7, 2018
Runtime
1h 33m
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