Everyone Says I Love You (1996)

79% of critics liked it
(43 reviews)
63% of users liked it
(22,979 ratings)

Featuring a soundtrack filled with beloved "standard" songs such as "Just You, Just Me" and "My Baby Just Cares for Me," this musical comedy by Woody Allen concerns a polite and comfortably well-off group of people and their romantic difficulties. DJ (Natasha Lyonne), who narrates the picture, is… More Featuring a soundtrack filled with beloved "standard" songs such as "Just You, Just Me" and "My Baby Just Cares for Me," this musical comedy by Woody Allen concerns a polite and comfortably well-off group of people and their romantic difficulties. DJ (Natasha Lyonne), who narrates the picture, is the daughter of divorced couple Steffi (Goldie Hawn) and Joe (Woody Allen). Since the break-up, Steffi has married Bob (Alan Alda); their children, DJ's half-sister and half-brother, are Skyler (Drew Barrymore) and Scott (Lukas Haas). Skyler is about to be married to a likeable chap named Holden (Edward Norton). However, her mother Steffi, a wealthy liberal, cultivates people as "projects." Her latest project is ex-con Charles (Tim Roth), an extremely rude and crude customer. At family gatherings, everyone politely ignores his lapses in manners and good taste until Skyler postpones her wedding to have an affair with him. In a parallel storyline, we see that DJ is convinced that her unremarried dad would find a perfect mate in Von (Julia Roberts), and she contrives an elaborate (and successful) scheme to bring them together. In a fashion typical of '30s musicals, this movie completely transcends its fluffy story, using a cavalcade of ballads to send the characters on a chaotic, romantic merry-go-round from New York to Paris. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 41 min.
Directed By: Woody Allen
Written By: Woody Allen
Genres: Drama, Musical & Performing Arts, Comedy

In Theaters: Dec 6, 1996 Wide
On DVD: Aug 17, 1999

Critic Reviews

Ruthe Stein, San Francisco Chronicle
Listening to the others sounding like a spouse in the shower makes one wonder: How bad could Barrymore be that she had to be dubbed?
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
Much of the film's story is half-hearted, its jokes hit or miss, and what starts out feeling genial ends up unavoidably thin.
Mike Clark, USA Today
If it doesn't quite mandate a viewer song burst, this sweet conceit ought to glue a grin on your face until its crucial next-to-last scene hits a clunker note.
Charles Taylor, Salon.com
For a picture that's almost a complete misfire, it's painless to sit through.
Janet Maslin, New York Times
It's a world of both serene privilege and surreal possibility, and it offers a delightful and witty compendium of the film maker's favorite things.
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
It would take a heart of stone to resist this movie.
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
Warmhearted, original, but not entirely successful tribute to classic Hollywood movies of the 1930s, specifically Capra's You Can't Take It With You.
Ellen Twadell, Common Sense Media
Modern musical will not interest teens.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Slight but pleasing middlebrow fare (much like a Bob Hope musical comedy).
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
Everyone Says I Love You won me over completely.
, Time Out
A charming, sweet-natured divertissement.
Robin Clifford, Reeling Reviews
The dance numbers are clever, fun and, sometimes, funky and are cleanly choreographed.
Steve Davis, Austin Chronicle
The preoccupation with rich, uninteresting, New Yorkers continues to distance his audience from his work more and more with each movie.
Shannon J. Harvey, Sunday Times (Australia)
Woody Allen's lively musical is a whimsical journey with surprising in-tune performances from A-list stars.
Gerry Shamray, Sun Newspapers of Cleveland
Magical experiment from Woody Allen.
Bob Bloom, Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN)
Woody doing a musical? OK, it's a bit uneven, but the all-star cast holds it together. Goldie Hawn is a delight.
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice
Woody Allen's musical exploration of the variety and vagaries of romantic love.
James Sanford, James Sanford on Film
in Allen's sweaty palms, "Everyone" often strains itself trying to entertain. Even when the movie hits its mark, you're usually aware of how much work it took to get there.
Dale Winogura, Boxoffice Magazine
[Allen's] most purely enjoyable movie since 1987's Radio Days.

Read all 19 critic reviews

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Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

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Featured Audience Ratings

AJ V

A bunch of actors you never thought you'd hear sing, get together to do a Woody Allen musical? That just sounds horrible, but I wanted to see Barrymore anyway, so I watched this movie. I don't know why, but I hate Allen's movies, they're not funny, and this is no… More
A bunch of actors you never thought you'd hear sing, get together to do a Woody Allen musical? That just sounds horrible, but I wanted to see Barrymore anyway, so I watched this movie. I don't know why, but I hate Allen's movies, they're not funny, and this is no exception. It was plain torture to watch.
Fernando Rafael Q

Everyone Says I Love You is one of those movies you can't help but fall in love with. This slightly farcical throwback to the old time musicals is impossibly charming. Everyone...is my favorite type of Allen movie: light, funny and warm. The Woody Allen we know and love plays the… More
Everyone Says I Love You is one of those movies you can't help but fall in love with. This slightly farcical throwback to the old time musicals is impossibly charming. Everyone...is my favorite type of Allen movie: light, funny and warm. The Woody Allen we know and love plays the Woody Allen we know and love. Other standouts are the devilish Tim Roth, the sultry Drew Barrymore and the elegant Goldie Hawn. This film is the very definition of star-studded (the cast also features Natalie Portman, Edward Norton and Julia Roberts) and features some impressive cinematography, particularly in the breathtaking Parisian sequences. Everyone Says I Love You's main selling point are musical numbers by non-singing actors, which give the proceedings more of a down-to-earth feel.
Leigh R

Natasha is the winner in this show. It was an alright movie. I'm not a fan of Allen but this one I could kind of wrap myself into.
Cassie H

An intriging musical set in all different kinds of settings. It was really good! :)
Jennifer X

Woody Allen meets High School Musical. It's like he got all the worst singers in Hollywood together and forced them to make a musical. It's still distinctly Woody Allen, and the screenwriting is still all right and everything, but I just couldn't STAND the singing!
Michael G

I'm not a fan of musicals for the most part, so this definitely isn't my favorite Allen film. It has its moments but it's nothing to flip out over.
Alec B

I smiled through this whole movie, it's just adorable. I love all the little musical numbers through this whole film. All the actors are having a wonderful time and so are we. Their voices may not be grand broadway ones, but they all sing from the heart and make this just a… More
I smiled through this whole movie, it's just adorable. I love all the little musical numbers through this whole film. All the actors are having a wonderful time and so are we. Their voices may not be grand broadway ones, but they all sing from the heart and make this just a wonderful feel good movie.
Daniel P

Ok - can I please just get something out of the way first: when the synopsis of the film *and* the DVD jacket both describe the film as a romantic musical, why do people give reviews that typically state, "they just burst out into song, it was really random", or, "this… More
Ok - can I please just get something out of the way first: when the synopsis of the film *and* the DVD jacket both describe the film as a romantic musical, why do people give reviews that typically state, "they just burst out into song, it was really random", or, "this would never happen in real life"? Grrr. Mini-rant over. Everyone Says I Love You is a charming, old-fashioned feeling film, beautifully photographed in New York, Paris and Venice, and using camera techniques familiar from old MGM musicals. The film revolves around an extended family and their various romances as they fall in and out of love. Along the way they periodically sing songs from the 30's and 40's that tie into their mood. All of the main cast, except for spoilsport Drew Barrymore, sing their own songs. Most of them can't sing (if not in tune, then not very well), but this is all part of the films appeal. Speaking of the cast, Woody Allen has assembled one of his best for this, his 26th film: Julia Roberts, Alan Alda, Tim Roth, Edward Norton, Natalie Portman, Goldie Hawn and Natasha Lyonne (who provides the very funny narration). The film is definitely more musical-comedy than musical-drama; underneath the gloss the story itself is rather shallow, but delightfully so, with the best number coming at the end with Goldie Hawn, who is easily the strongest vocalist.
Erin C

I wanted to see this because I love Julia Roberts, but even she couldn't save this movie. There are so many great actors in this one but it was just terrible.
Tom S

It's not a good movie, but the dance finale with Goldie Hawn is that mix of beauty and goofiness that typifies Woody Allen.
Marcus W

Any film that starts with Edward Norton singing gets my interest. It then goes on to be a typical Woody Allen film: people falling in and out of love while Allen does his neurotic spiel, not to mention Allen yet again making his love for the city of New York evident. However,… More
Any film that starts with Edward Norton singing gets my interest. It then goes on to be a typical Woody Allen film: people falling in and out of love while Allen does his neurotic spiel, not to mention Allen yet again making his love for the city of New York evident. However, it's the wonderful musical numbers that boost it. Tim Roth (playing a sociopath) serenades Drew Barrymore, a man escapes from a straight-jacket during one number and then starts doing ballet, and there's also a terrific piece that could be straight out of Beetlejuice. Plus, everybody in Hollywood is in this (mostly). It culminates with an amazing dance between Goldie Hawn and Woody Allen and then as the credits came up I just wanted to applaud.
Sunil J

A very different Woody Allen movie.
Sarah B

Forget that it's Woody Allen for a moment. A musical starring Goldie Hawn, Edward Norton, Drew Barrymore, Alan Alda and Natalie Portman. It's bizarre already, but with Woody Allen on board it works. The storyline with Barrymore and Norton is the only failure, despite their… More
Forget that it's Woody Allen for a moment. A musical starring Goldie Hawn, Edward Norton, Drew Barrymore, Alan Alda and Natalie Portman. It's bizarre already, but with Woody Allen on board it works. The storyline with Barrymore and Norton is the only failure, despite their best efforts. A must see, unless you don't like musicals of course, and anyone who has a heart likes musicals. Particularly when they're this good.