Critic Reviews
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Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader
It's funny and sweet in spots, though the light moments get lost in the haze of imitation and ambitiousness.
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Variety Staff, Variety
A pleasant disappointment, pleasant because he gets all the laughs he goes for in a visually charming, sweetly paced picture, a disappointment because he doesn't go for more.
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, Time Out
Warm, romantic and old-fashioned.
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Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
There doesn't seem to be a driving idea behind it, a confident tone to give us the sure notion that Allen knows what he wants to do here.
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Janet Maslin, New York Times
Picturesque but uncertain.
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Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
Inspired by Bergman's Smiles of a Summer Night, andwith a touch of Renoir's Rules of the Game, this period comedy is a minor work, a trifle in Allen's career, worth seeing for some of the supporting acting.
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Fernando F. Croce, CinePassion
Allen has no affinity for Renoir's robust generosity, yet this study does wonders for his filmmaking
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, Film4
It's not classic Woody, but it has a warmly human attractiveness about it.
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Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
It's one of Allen's lightest trifles, but it too contains enough funny jokes and fantasy moments to make it a small treasure.
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Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice
A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy circles around the nuances of love-a web that both tantalizes and confounds Americans.
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Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
Top-flight Allen. Probably his most gorgeous color film.
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Scott Weinberg, eFilmCritic.com
Not among Woody's most memorable, but it's still pleasant enough to warrant a visit.
Read all 12 critic reviews
Featured Audience Ratings
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Not Woody Allen's best - rather witty, but a little on the dull side.
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It's an interesting idea, Shakespearean adaptations and period dramas were rife in the early 80's, so to do one with Woody Allen's witticisms was probably well received at the time. As much as I liked the script, performances and watching Allen flying about in a… More
It's an interesting idea, Shakespearean adaptations and period dramas were rife in the early 80's, so to do one with Woody Allen's witticisms was probably well received at the time. As much as I liked the script, performances and watching Allen flying about in a floating bicycle, it didn't quite grab me and I found it a little dated. It's still amusing and odd enough for me to give it three stars though.
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Andrew: He's a wonderful guy and a terrific doctor. Never lost a patient. Got a couple of them pregnant, but never lost one.
"Six characters in search for love."
Halfway through this movie, I didn't believe there was any way I was going to like it at all. I did,… More
Andrew: He's a wonderful guy and a terrific doctor. Never lost a patient. Got a couple of them pregnant, but never lost one.
"Six characters in search for love."
Halfway through this movie, I didn't believe there was any way I was going to like it at all. I did, however, warm up to it, but still just couldn't find myself really liking the movie. The cinematography was beautiful, the performances were strong, but I didn't like the movie. For having the word Comedy in its title, it sure wasn't that comedic.
The characters were extremely wacky and that lead to an extremely wacky and annoying ending. Woody Allen plays Woody Allen as an inventor. Mary Steenburger is her usual annoying self, but she does give a good performance by her standards. The others were all good, but I didn't find myself liking any of the characters, which is weird for a Woody Allen movie because I normally like the women characters in his movies.
This falls towards the lower half of Allen's movies, when it comes to quality. His movies are really hit and miss for me. I've loved a lot of his movies and I've disliked many of them. Some of them just seem like he couldn't think of anything else, so he made a short little comedy just so he could get his movie out for that year. He's obviously a great director with movies like Hannah and Her Sisters and Manhattan, but sometimes I wonder how I've ever liked a movie from him when I see one like this. Then I go watch Hannah and Her Sisters over again and he's a god of filmmaking once again.
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More or less Woody Allen playing himself in a Bergman film. Good for a few laughs, far from him best, far from his worst.
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I always forget how funny Woody can be.
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Adequate reworking of A Midsummer's Night's Dream but hardly Woody's best. For so short a film it feels curiously inert.
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I just realized that all of Woody Allen's movies LOOK quite different but they all have the unmistakable stamp of Woody still. This is such a beautiful movie! And such beautiful people! And such fantastic physical comedy with its light romp between sex and love and their… More
I just realized that all of Woody Allen's movies LOOK quite different but they all have the unmistakable stamp of Woody still. This is such a beautiful movie! And such beautiful people! And such fantastic physical comedy with its light romp between sex and love and their inextricable bind and its hilarious anachronisms and the funny little inventions like the flying machine and the big shadow ball. Light, imaginative farce suits Woody.
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An enjoyably light comic homage to Shakespearian comedy, complete with an ensemble cast and many farcical misunderstandings. One of Allen's more pleasing and watchable offerings, more upbeat and less self absorbed. Jose Ferrer is great as the pompous Leopold.
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A surprisingly weak film from Allen during a time when he was at his creative peak. The problem is that the 'magical' element just doesn't work here, and the characters are not very appealing.
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This movie was a pleasant surprise. A screwball sex comedy, a take on Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and homages to directors Renoir and Bergman and Russian writer Checkov,
I found the film to be funny and especially enjoyed the absurdist elements of… More
This movie was a pleasant surprise. A screwball sex comedy, a take on Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and homages to directors Renoir and Bergman and Russian writer Checkov,
I found the film to be funny and especially enjoyed the absurdist elements of the plot.
Excellent cast! I especially liked Mary Steenburgen. I loooved her in the kitchen scene!
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Woody Allen doing Shakespeare is a great idea, but sadly he skimps on the actual comedy.
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The plot is loosely based on Ingmar Bergman's Smiles of a Summer Night. This was the first of 13 movies that Allen would make starring Mia Farrow. Farrow's role was originally written for another famous Allen lead actress, Diane Keaton, but she was busy promoting her film… More
The plot is loosely based on Ingmar Bergman's Smiles of a Summer Night. This was the first of 13 movies that Allen would make starring Mia Farrow. Farrow's role was originally written for another famous Allen lead actress, Diane Keaton, but she was busy promoting her film Reds and preparing to begin production on Shoot the Moon. It also marks the first appearance of Allen as an ensemble performer in his own film, as previously he had either been the lead character or did not appear in his films.
Julie Hagerty, Mary Steenburgen, Tony Roberts and Jose Ferrer co-starred.
With beautiful cinematography and classical soundtrack by Felix Mendhelsson this is a nice and easy comedy.
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Any time Allen is combined with a masterful cameraman (Willis, Di Palma, or Nykvist) the result is worth watching, even if the movie, like this one, is just something he did for fun one summer.
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It's half an hour or so of okay and then it gets quite amusing and then just ends quite silly. Totally your call but I thought it was just funny enough for a 3 star.
Read all 14 featured audience ratings
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