Metacritic reviews

Eschewing self-righteousness, Free Time merely presents a collection of observations on how modern life often plays out like an absurdist comedy. Burgess then steps in to provide the inarticulate mouthpiece for a generation of people who are mad as hell and not going to take it anymore, but unsure what the step beyond yelling about it entails.

The frustration of watching Drew’s journey unfold makes for a unique viewing experience, and whatever it is he seeks in life, I hope he one day finds it.

What’s fascinating about Martin Brown’s keenly observed and amusing debut is the twist it offers on the famous Big Apple adage that, if you can make it there, you can make it anywhere.

Free Time, writer/director Ryan Martin Brown’s debut feature film, is so funny precisely because we all know this guy, and on some level, we can identify with his directionless struggle.

This is one of the better indie comedies in a long time, enjoyable from minute one until the final frame, and deceptively insightful about the structure of the modern world, one that encourages us to do more with our free time but doesn’t offer much guidance to what exactly we should be doing.

Burgess carries this succinct (and arguably slight, narratively disjointed) comedy without making you want to strangle his often willfully naïve character.

Rather than a spirited diatribe about the need to step away from our desks and live life, it’s a thoughtful little comedy about how those soul-crushing hours in the office have the unintended benefit of giving us a personal life that’s worth missing.