Advanced Search >
Help Me Search

Movies

Weekend Box Office
Film Awards & Top 10s By Year
All-Time High Scores
All-Time Low Scores
Best / Worst of the Decade

Wide Releases
Now In Theaters

sort by namesort by score

Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

Limited Releases
Now In Theaters

sort by namesort by score

Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

Closet, The

EMAILPRINTMiramax Films

Closet, The reviews
72
7.1 User Score:

Generally favorable reviews

Based on 28 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 9 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >

Movie Info

Genre(s): Gay/Lesbian

Written by: Francis Veber

Directed by: Francis Veber

Release Date:
Theatrical: June 29, 2001
DVD: November 13, 2001

Running Time: 84 minutes, Color

Origin: France

Language(s): French (with English subtitles)

Summary

RATING: R for a scene of sexuality

Starring Daniel Auteuil, Gérard Depardieu, Thierry Lhermitte, Michèle Laroque, and Michel Aumont

A hilarious story of how one little rumor not only brightens a simple man's life, but also triggers an awakening of everyone around him. (Miramax Films)

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

San Francisco Chronicle Bob Graham

Neither a "gay" movie nor a straight one; it is simply a funny one.

Read Full Review >
100

Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold

Hilarious, near-flawless.

Read Full Review >
91

Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

Cagey, high gloss comedy.

Read Full Review >
90

Washington Post Desson Thomson

Wins you over with its devastating simplicity.

Read Full Review >
90

Washington Post Rita Kempley

The French originals are always much breezier, the characters more genuine and the actors subtler even if the situations are just as silly.

Read Full Review >
88

Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow

The movie's steady good humor and respect for character is pleasing - even energizing.

Read Full Review >
83

Portland Oregonian Kim Morgan

It is aided both by fine performances by Auteuil, Aumont and Depardieu and by wonderful pacing.

Read Full Review >
80

New Times (L.A.) M.V. Moorhead

The director is in fine form with The Closet, an expertly acted divertissement that may well be headed for a Yank incarnation within the next few years.

Read Full Review >
80

Chicago Reader Lisa Alspector

Funny? This one is. It's also sweet and thoughtful.

Read Full Review >
80

Newsweek David Ansen

More sweet than savage, this amiable farce creates laughs with old-pro efficiency.

80

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

Auteuil and Depardieu spar hilariously, and writer-director Francis Veber, following "The Dinner Game," offers another delicious treat.

Read Full Review >
80

The New York Times Stephen Holden

Veber's giddy social comedy The Closet finds more delicious, chortling fun in the spectacle of obsequious hypocrisy than any movie I've seen in ages.

Read Full Review >
80

Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern

An expertly developed farce that's very funny and surprisingly affecting in the bargain.

80

Variety Lisa Nesselson

A clever premise that's good for many laughs.

Read Full Review >
75

New York Post Lou Lumenick

Hilarious French farce.

75

USA Today Mike Clark

This is economy of style that Americans get only in Woody Allen movies -- and even that's not a guarantee.

Read Full Review >
75

Philadelphia Inquirer Desmond Ryan

It's a bright and breezy piece, and a refreshing alternative to the gross-out Hollywood comedies.

Read Full Review >
75

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

Auteuil does an excellent job. He's like Marcello Mastroianni, whose naturalness also deluded people into thinking for a while that he wasn't a versatile actor.

Read Full Review >
75

New York Daily News Jami Bernard

A farce nearly as cracked as his previous "The Dinner Game."

Read Full Review >
75

Boston Globe Jay Carr

Perhaps not the most uproarious of Veber's farces, but entertaining and emotionally satisfying all the same.

70

LA Weekly Holly Willis

Auteuil is as charming as ever, with a surprising aptitude for physical humor that keeps the tone cheerfully light and the laughs plentiful.

Read Full Review >
63

Chicago Tribune John Petrakis

By the end we are left with a mildly amusing comedy and the lingering memory of a sterling cast that deserved better material.

63

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

Passes the time pleasantly and has a few good laughs.

Read Full Review >
60

Los Angeles Times John Anderson

Veber, also responsible for "The Dinner Game," apparently has a finger on the pulse of French audiences and Gallic-minded Americans, but there's just not a lot of freshness in this Closet.

Read Full Review >
60

Village Voice Dennis Lim

Tumbles happily into every pitfall that lines its well-trodden path.

Read Full Review >
60

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

It's amusing more often than it isn't, largely because the cast is so nonchalant and, well, French about everything.

Read Full Review >
40

Austin Chronicle Kimberley Jones

It doesn't have the bite to be satire, the pratfalls to be broad comedy, or the wit to pass as a comedy of manners. What does that leave? The French cinematic equivalent of motivational coaching, and -- just like Pignon -- something spectacularly unspectacular.

Read Full Review >
20

Mr. Showbiz Kevin Maynard

Has a blithe tone and a capable cast, but Veber's script is 100 percent laugh-free.

What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this movie is 7.1 (out of 10) based on 9 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Phyllis F. gave it an 8:
Full of social issues, affirmative action, sexual harrassment, rules in the workplace, bigotry, also deals with perception and latent homosexuality. I lead a movie group and expect to have great discussions.

James K. gave it a 9:
Excellent---well-done. We laughed out loud many times. Good story, and well-written, and acted.

Esther W. gave it a 9:
A minor classic! One of the year's best films, and certainly the funniest. Don't miss it.

Popular on CBS sites: College Signing Day | Olympics | Lost | iPhone | Cell Phones | Video Game Reviews | Free Music

About CBS Interactive | Jobs | Advertise

© 2010 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. | Privacy Policy (UPDATED) | Terms of Use