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Lucky Break

EMAILPRINTParamount Pictures

Lucky Break reviews
48
8.0 User Score:

Mixed or average reviews

Based on 22 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 2 votes
Read user comments
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Movie Info

Genre(s): Crime

Written by: Ronan Bennett

Directed by: Peter Cattaneo

Release Date:
Theatrical: April 5, 2002
DVD: October 22, 2002

Running Time: 107 minutes, Color

Origin: Germany / UK

Summary

RATING: PG-13 for brief strong language and some sexual references

Starring James Nesbitt, Olivia Williams, Timothy Spall, Bill Nighy, Lennie James, Ron Cook, Frank Harper, and Christopher Plummer

A comedy about a prison escape with a musical twist. (Paramount Pictures)

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...

80

Washington Post Michael O'Sullivan

Apart from the deja vu all over again, Lucky Break is no worse a film than "Breaking Out," and "Breaking Out" was utterly charming.

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80

Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern

A minor comedy, though a major delight.

75

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

There is not much here that comes as a blinding plot revelation, but the movie has a raffish charm and good-hearted characters, and like "The Full Monty" it makes good use of the desperation beneath the comedy.

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70

Film Threat Ron Wells

Overall, it's good, not great.

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70

Washington Post Ann Hornaday

It's what the Brits themselves might call fair to middling.

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70

Chicago Reader Hank Sartin

Cattaneo proceeds gamely, though without much spark, through this familiar fare, but at least Nesbitt, with his sly, oddball charm, is fun to watch.

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63

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Ray Conlogue

Isn't quite funny enough to make it as a comedy, or touching enough to make it as a romance. It's a pleasant effort that doesn't hit any of its targets.

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60

Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas

Lightly reflective and consistently entertaining, Lucky Break is an easy-to-take diversion.

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60

Village Voice Ed Park

Mike Leigh mainstay Timothy Spall deftly shades in the designated goner, fellow "Still Crazy" alum Bill Nighy is sweetly wispy as the capable fop, and anger-management counselor Olivia Williams trembles pleasantly as usual.

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50

The Onion (A.V. Club) Scott Tobias

The big musical setpiece, rife with possibilities for humor and uplift, needed to be funnier and more energetic than the half-hearted lyrics and choreography bother to muster.

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50

New Times (L.A.) Andy Klein

This is mostly well-constructed fluff, which is all it seems intended to be.

50

Chicago Tribune Loren King

The movie moves predictably to its feel-good finale.

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50

New York Daily News Jack Mathews

Without the surprise, realism, audacity and upstart cheekiness -- pun intended -- that made "The Full Monty's" blue-collar strippers so irresistible.

50

Boston Globe Loren King

The movie moves predictably to its formulaic finale, which -- unwittingly perhaps -- reprises Plummer's own sugary classic, ''The Sound of Music.''

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50

San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle

Pleasing but routine British comedy.

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50

New York Post Lou Lumenick

Pleasant and has not a few laughs.

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40

LA Weekly John Patterson

The end result is like cold porridge with only the odd enjoyably chewy lump.

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40

TV Guide Ken Fox

Neither the appealing cast nor the bouncing, ska-inflected soundtrack can keep the party going.

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33

Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

Every porridgy inmate in this instantly forgettable romp warbles in the prison's amateur musical, and one of them demonstrates a rather extreme devotion to the tomatoes he grows in the on-site greenhouse.

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30

Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek

Perfectly inoffensive and harmless, but it's also drab and inert.

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30

The New York Times Dave Kehr

Mr. Cattaneo restricts himself to the smiling blandness that has become the stock in trade of British comedies made for export, turning in a film that is forced, familiar and thoroughly condescending.

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30

Variety Derek Elley

Chained to the floor by a script that isn't particularly funny, direction that goes for realism rather than stylization and an almost complete lack of comic timing.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this movie is 8.0 (out of 10) based on 2 User Votes

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

Terry H gave it an8:
This was a great movie. Don't listen to the critics.

Mulroneycakes gave it an 8:
Oh, for crying out loud. It's. Just. A. Bit. Of. FUN. Remember fun? Where you smile? Good good good.

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