Critic Reviews

• Joshua Kosman, San Francisco Chronicle

  By hewing so faithfully to their source, the creators don't let the material pursue its own direction, and the result feels dramatically arbitrary.

• Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times

  [The] story and emotions seem a little too big for the frame.

• Carina Chocano, Los Angeles Times

  An ill-advised combination of tragedy and satire, it generally plays like the coffee-break fantasy of a temp who messed up a lunch order and paid for it with his dignity.

• Ty Burr, Boston Globe

  Everything about this curio is claustrophobic.

• Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

  It's rotten to the core and right down to the end. But if you find that such extremes can be fascinating, then the movie may cheer you, not because it is happy, but because it goes for broke.

• V.A. Musetto, New York Post

  Daniel Handler's script has snap, crackle and pop (he's the author of the popular Lemony Snicket children's books), and Curtiss Clayton's direction is darkly crisp.

• Pablo Villaca, Cinema em Cena

  Julgando que ambientar Rigoletto nos dias atuais é o bastante para ser aplaudido, o filme erra nos diálogos e no tom da narrativa, tornando-se insípido e descartável.

• Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid

  Very funny, very dark and very clever -- a tale of the corporate id gone wild that promises to upset even the most jaded and hardened of sensibilities.

• Sean Means, Salt Lake Tribune

  Wcreenwriter Daniel Handler [(a.k.a. Lemony Snicket)] employs an O. Henry-like twist of irony that first-time director Curtiss Clayton telegraphs long before it strikes.

• Rob Blackwelder, SPLICEDWire

  Manages to be both disquieting and entertaining -- and that's quite a cunning feat of cinema.

• Sheri Linden, Boxoffice Magazine

  The intended black comedy is no more than a wan mix of over-the-top unpleasantness and obvious psychologizing.

• Paul Sherman, Boston Herald

  Sometimes it's hard to hear the dialogue because the gears of the plot are trying so hard and creaking so loudly.

• Marjorie Baumgarten, Austin Chronicle

  A tragic story graced with lots of comedic touches, which makes for an often awkward tone.

• Walter Chaw, Film Freak Central

  A new mythology with new morals for a rough, uncertain age.

• Erik Childress, eFilmCritic.com

  Rick is dark, dark comedy at its most hedonistic.

• Ella Taylor, L.A. Weekly

  Impressive -- and utterly depressing -- feature debut.

• MaryAnn Johanson, Flick Filosopher

  [M]alicious, ironic cruelty dealt with a deft and subtle hand...

• Maitland McDonagh, TV Guide's Movie Guide

  A deliciously bitter tale of lust and betrayal among dog-eat-dog Wall Street bigwigs.

Read all 18 critic reviews