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Stage Beauty
Lions Gate Films Inc.


8.2

based on 38 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 18 votes
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FILM:

MPAA RATING: R for sexual content and language

Starring Billy Crudup, Claire Danes, Rupert Everett, Tom Wilkinson, Ben Chaplin, Hugh Bonneville, Richard Griffiths, Edward Fox, and Zoe Tapper

Set in 1660's England, this is the story of the first female actor to appear legally in England and the last male actor to make his career by playing women.

GENRE(S):	Drama
WRITTEN BY:	Jeffrey Hatcher (also play)
DIRECTED BY:	Richard Eyre
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: March 8, 2005 Video: March 8, 2005 Theatrical: October 8, 2004
RUNNING TIME:	105 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	UK / Germany / USA

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...

The Hollywood Reporter Ray Bennett

Those who thought "Shakespeare In Love" was as good as it gets in intelligent costume romantic comedy will find that director Richard Eyre and writer Jeffrey Hatcher have taken the form to a higher level.

The New Republic Stanley Kauffmann

Crudup is whole. He creates the man who has pride in what he does, who is suddenly stripped of the work and the pride; and who makes his way, somewhat painfully, to another sort of pride. His story is a small but acute poignancy in the history of the theater, and Crudup realizes it completely.

Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington

A rich, shining valentine to the British theater and the eternal joys of Shakespeare,

New York Daily News Jack Mathews

It's not as clever, or as consistently funny, or as well-cast as "Shakespeare in Love," but Richard Eyre's Stage Beauty is the most fun I've had with the Bard since that 1998 Oscar winner.

Empire Alan Morrison

A film that, despite being about theatre itself, is remarkably cinematic and entirely unafraid to revel in the English language.

Variety David Rooney

This skillfully acted, handsomely crafted frock piece toys cleverly with gender confusion and sexual identity.

LA Weekly Ella Taylor

The movie blows a fresh wind of disrespect, high drama and lush romanticism through that stolidly middlebrow subgenre, the period drama.

Los Angeles Times Carina Chocano

Sly and witty.

USA Today Mike Clark

Beauty is about two-thirds the serious-edged romp it would like to be, which still leaves a lot of room for tony fun.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

Claire Danes is as fresh as running water in this role, exhibiting the clarity and directness that has become her strength; her characters tend to know who they are, and why.

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

Expertly directed by Richard Eyre (Iris) from Jeffrey Hatcher's play, the film is bawdy fun.

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

In the popularity sweepstakes, Stage Beauty may earn top honors, outdoing the overrated "Shakespeare in Love" as a dramatic comedy about life and love in an era more naive - but hardly more innocent - than our own.

New York Post Megan Lehmann

Sometimes teeters on the verge of going completely over the top, but it's mostly saved by its own self-awareness.

Miami Herald Connie Ogle

Has a weird, compelling energy, fueled by a deliciously dynamic cast, a cheerfully bawdy and odd story line and a refreshing, impossible romance.

Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek

An entertainment as billowy as a Shakespearean nurse's sail-shaped hat.

New York Magazine Peter Rainer

Crudup, whose features have the appropriate delicacy, plays Ned with complete conviction; it’s difficult to imagine anyone else succeeding as well.

Newsweek David Ansen

It's a marvelous premise, and Crudup's serpentine performance has a venomous grace. But Jeffrey Hatcher's screenplay too often sacrifices psychological insight for bogus theatricality.

Chicago Reader J.R. Jones

The movie's sexual politics couldn't be more regressive--Crudup learns to be a man in the sack as well as on the boards--but it's still a competent middlebrow costume drama.

Washington Post Teresa Wiltz

Ultimately this is a celebration of the theater, a big, wet kiss to the craft of acting and the artists who inhabited London's early stages.

Dallas Observer Gregory Weinkauf

The design is gorgeous, the dialogue delicious, and even the supporting characters prove resonant.

Portland Oregonian Marc Mohan

For those to whom life is but a stage, this will be sweet, sweet candy; to those of us destined to be their audience, it's a satisfying, if flawed, look behind the curtain.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Liam Lacey

At best, the film makes a more convincing case for the adventure of artificiality: Take Billy Crudup, add a little rouge to his cheeks and suddenly: Voilà, the guy can act.

Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach

In the end, viewers are left with a nagging feeling that this was a long way to go for the incongruous pleasure of watching 20th-century method acting on a 17th-century stage.

ReelViews James Berardinelli

For every thing that Stage Beauty does right, it fumbles at least one other element, resulting in a movie-going experience that is of the glass half-full/half-empty variety.

Boston Globe Ty Burr

Yet Crudup does good, mercurial work despite a silly surfer-dude haircut.

The New York Times Dana Stevens

As drama, Stage Beauty is both timorous and ungainly, words that might also describe Ms. Danes's performance.

TV Guide Angel Cohn

The film is an intriguing and hugely theatrical experience whose effectiveness is greatly enhanced by gorgeous period costumes and set design.

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

A celebration of the theater that tends to drag the moment it's out of drag.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold

There's an enjoyably literate style here and some humorous moments.

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

The wigs, hats and gowns look realistic, gorgeous and utterly right. In a vapid confection like Stage Beauty, perhaps that's what really counts.

San Francisco Chronicle Carla Meyer

The film rarely matches Crudup's performance, appearing confused itself about whether it's farce or drama.

Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey

Over-orchestrated and underdeveloped interpretation of Jeffrey Hatcher's play.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Keith Phipps

As historical speculation, it's clever enough. As a film, it glows with flop-sweat.

Premiere Staff (Not Credited)

The result is more bawdy diversion than historical fable.

Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov

Both interesting and insufferable.

Village Voice Jessica Winter

Most frustrating, Stage Beauty fumbles XX/XY politics at every turn.

The New Yorker David Denby

Second-rate bawdiness--that is, bawdiness without the wit of Boccaccio or Shakespeare or even Tom Stoppard--is more infantile than funny, and I’m not sure that the American playwright Jeffrey Hatcher, who concocted this piece for the stage and then adapted it into a movie, is even second-rate.

Washington Post Desson Thomson

In the end, Stage Beauty is in over its mediocre head.

The average user rating for this movie is 8.2 (out of 10) based on 18 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Jace gave it a9:
While not the boiling melodrama one might expect from Shakesperean stew, this one simmers and cooks from start to finish. Highlights are Rupert Everett as King Charles II (bawdy, hilarious, over-the-top but utterly believable) and the dialogue, which breathes with extremely clever and irionic wit, as well as delivering emotional blows that linger into subsequent scenes. This movie tells a poignant story and has fun doing so, without ever devolving into plain silliness.

Chad Shiira gave it an8:
Remember "Cheers"? Remember when Andy Andy and Diane performed "Othello" in Sam's bar? In "Stage Beauty", Maria(Claire Danes) is vague about her acting counterpart's method-gone-mad interpretation of "The Moor" by referring to him as a pronoun. Why? Just in case Ned really isn't trying to kill her? A feminist reading of "Stage Beauty" will point out that Maria is unfairly portrayed as a villian(she's kind of Joan Rivers-like in her seeming disloyalty to Johnny Carson), when, in actuality, it's the budding actress' right to reclaim her sex from transgender masquerade. During Desdemona's death scene, there's a masochistic willingness on Maria's behalf to be punished. Her super-trouper mentality doesn't quite ring true because Danes doesn't convey that unforgettable fire for acting, in which you'd believe that Maria would lay down her life for the stage. Who would be that stupid anyway? But if you'd rather relax and not dig deep into "Stage Beauty", you'll be surprised at how this small film is in every way superior to "Shakespeare in Love". Thanks largely in part to Billy Crudup, who is not the "most beautiful woman on the London stage", but who makes a sublime drag queen.

Jay H. gave it a10:
This movie was brilliant. I wasn't sure if I was going to like it because I don't always enjoy period films involving Shakespeare, bt wow. This had my attention early on in the film, and pulled me for a memorable ride. Billy Crudup and Claire Danes were perfect as the leads. They had such an electric chemistry, and just worked well with each other. Crudup especially gave such an excellent performance, I'm disappointed he didn't get an Oscar nomination, at the very least. Stage Beauty funny, insightful, smart, witty, refreshing. Defintiely a must see.

rox w. gave it a10:
Billy Crudup deserved an Oscar. The depth and development of his character is a rare event in Hollywood. So rare, in fact, many critics and viewers are unable to recognize a performance that sparkles with nuance. The chemistry between Crudup and Danes is electrifying. A great underrated film.

Tara S gave it a9:
An instant favorite of mine! BIlly Crudup is excellent!!!

Indigo W. gave it a9:
Claire Danes and Billy Crudup worked wonderfully together. All of the actors were terrific. Loved the whole movie!

Dave W gave it a10:
I'd almost forgotten what can happen when literate, witty writing, savvy direction, and brilliant acting get together in one film. I thought Shakespeare in Love was kind of boring ala Merchant-Ivory. Stage Beauty offers a far more diverse, imaginative experience. I'd never heard of this film before taking a chance on it at the video store, and now it's on my top ten list for the year so far.

Stage Beauty Lions Gate Films Inc.

Stage Beauty
Lions Gate Films Inc.