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Russian Dolls
IFC First Take


8.8

based on 24 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 5 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

FILM:

L'Auberge Espagnole

Internet Movie Database

MPAA RATING: Not Rated

Starring Romain Duris, Kelly Reilly, Audrey Tautou, Cécile De France, Kevin Bishop, Evguenya Obraztsova, Irene Montalà, and Gary Love

In this sequel to "L'Auberge Espagnole," a French writer (Duris) finds his life is once again being turned sideways by his footloose European friends.

GENRE(S):	Comedy \| Foreign \| Romance
WRITTEN BY:	Cédric Klapisch
DIRECTED BY:	Cédric Klapisch
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: September 26, 2006 Theatrical: May 10, 2006
RUNNING TIME:	128 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	France / UK
LANGUAGE(S):	French (with English subtitles)

Original title "Les Poupées Russes"; Best Supporting Actress (De France), 2006 César Awards

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

New York Post Kyle Smith

Russian Dolls is itself a delightful mini-trip to Europe. Its overly cute bits are like cinematic tourist traps, but it's the beauty that stays with you.

100

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

Russian Dolls captures how being a sexual cad has become an essential phase in the life of the modern male.

Portland Oregonian M. E. Russell

A bright, sexy, globe-trotting and very French romantic comedy.

Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach

Russian Dolls never resorts to sitcom moments as it explores the transformation of friendship into love. All the characters here are believably appealing and refreshingly three-dimensional, and the situations they find themselves in have the ring of truth. You leave this film wanting to know these people, wanting the best for them.

Boston Globe Ty Burr

The film isn't especially deep, but it's mostly delightful.

Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea

Russian Dolls isn't quite the gem that its precursor was. It rambles. It's less of an ensemble effort. There's more of Xavier's moping self-centeredness. But Duris is terrific as the confused cusp-of-30 protagonist, and the rest of the cast is bright and beaming.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Noel Murray

These characters are still rich, and their potential growth still compelling. Here's hoping we meet them again in another five years.

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

Klapisch's use of split screens, fragmented images and nouvelle vague-ish editing would be annoying if it weren't so in keeping with the youthful exuberance his characters haven't quite lost.

Salon.com Andrew O'Hehir

As long as Klapisch keeps his characters pinballing each other from one Euro-capital to the next, Russian Dolls remains fun and charming, without ever seeming remotely serious or meaningful.

Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum

Klapisch self-consciously throws fistfuls of quirky film style at us, as if he were Francois Truffaut, but his characters are still interesting and his party sequences are especially good.

Washington Post Desson Thomson

Fluffily enjoyable.

The New Yorker David Denby

Russian Dolls offers touristic views of London, Paris, and St. Petersburg, where Wendy and Xavier both go for the wedding of another former roommate, and many pretty faces and bodies; it's froth with a sprinkling of earnest reflection.

LA Weekly Ella Taylor

Precisely observed, charming and - for better and worse - light as air.

Los Angeles Times Carina Chocano

Charming and antic, Russian Dolls doesn't quite cohere in the way of "L'Auberge Espagnole" into a clever snapshot of contemporary Europe.

The Hollywood Reporter Frank Scheck

Another highly entertaining portrait of attractive young Europeans looking for personal and professional fulfillment amidst gorgeous locations.

Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington

Russian Dolls, like "L'Auberge," has an excellent cast (mostly the same one, in fact) and an impish style and speed that gives it more obvious audience appeal than the average French film.

New York Daily News Jack Mathews

Meandering, overlong digital soap opera.

Miami Herald Marta Barber

The cast of renegades is as appealing as ever, and you'd only wish that the fictional folks of "Friends" or the cast of "Real World" were so free and nonjudgmental.

Empire David Parkinson

For all its self-conscious pizzazz, this is irresistibly entertaining.

Village Voice Bill Gallo

Those who loved the original Auberge will likely be eager to book rooms once again.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker

For all its pronouncements, it's a frothy romantic lark.

San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle

The smarter way to make this movie would have been to edit out everything extraneous to the story of Xavier and Wendy. They're the soul and heart of the movie, while everything else is pretty much dead weight.

The New York Times Stephen Holden

The shallowness of this idealized depiction of European cultural homogeneity is largely camouflaged by the comfortable fit of its director's sensibility with the actors' likable, lived-in performances. An apt alternative title for Russian Dolls might be "Lovers Without Borders."

Variety Lisa Nesselson

Viewers who thought the protags were superficial and annoying first time around will find little to change their minds here, but original pictures fans will probably embrace the now-scattered group's marginally more mature dilemmas centered on work and romance.

The average user rating for this movie is 8.8 (out of 10) based on 5 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

JM H gave it a9:
A tad long, but if you loved L'auberge espagnole you will love Russian Dolls.

Mike F. gave it a10:
if you enjoyed L'Auberge Espangole, you will love this. Best movie I have seen this Eternal Sunshine... love story that never gets sappy. Duris and Reilly give tremendous performances, and there's moreTatau than the 1st go around.

Mikey G. gave it a9:
It's filmed in a very interesting way, the characters make you care about them, and there are some damn good looking women in this movie! It speaks to every person struggling to succeed in love and career. Or even struggling to define what success in those areas really means. Great movie!

Jay W. gave it a6:
A sometimes amusing film that screams "I'm hip!".

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Russian Dolls IFC First Take

Russian Dolls
IFC First Take