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36
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71
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70
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93
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27
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47
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54
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93
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82
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79
Iron Man
78
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73
Kung Fu Panda
72
Ghost Town
71
Tropic Thunder
71
Horton Hears a Who!
70
Vicky Cristina Barcelona
65
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
64
Wanted
64
Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist
64
Pineapple Express
63
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, The
62
Burn After Reading
61
Incredible Hulk, The
60
Traitor
58
Body of Lies
57
Flash of Genius
57
Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D
55
House Bunny, The
54
You Don't Mess with the Zohan
54
Get Smart
53
Sex and the City: The Movie
53
Rocker, The
53
Lucky Ones, The
52
Longshots, The
51
Mamma Mia!
51
Step Brothers
49
Hancock
49
Family That Preys, The
47
Swing Vote
47
X-Files: I Want to Believe, The
46
Lakeview Terrace
45
Blindness
43
Meet Dave
43
Death Race
43
Eagle Eye
42
Beverly Hills Chihuahua
39
Nights in Rodanthe
37
Miracle at St. Anna
36
Space Chimps
36
Righteous Kill
36
Fly Me to the Moon
36
How to Lose Friends & Alienate People
35
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
35
Mirrors
34
Happening, The
34
My Best Friend's Girl
31
Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, The
27
Women, The
26
Babylon A.D.
24
Bangkok Dangerous
24
Love Guru, The
23
American Carol, An
15
Disaster Movie
15
College
xx
RocknRolla
xx
Express, The
xx
City of Ember
xx
Quarantine
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xx
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xx
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81
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55
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59
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xx
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80
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xx
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63
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56
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75
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55
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65
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52
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55
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72
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83
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83
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79
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61
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xx
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54
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66
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67
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55
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39
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75
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89
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86
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86
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85
Edge of Heaven, The
85
Alexandra
84
Up the Yangtze
83
U2 3D
83
Trouble the Water
82
Tell No One
82
Rachel Getting Married
82
Frozen River
81
Ballast
80
Encounters at the End of the World
80
Bigger, Stronger, Faster*
80
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80
Moving Midway
79
Visitor, The
78
Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired
78
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77
Pool, The
75
Young@Heart
75
Boy A
74
Anita O'Day: The Life of a Jazz Singer
74
Mongol
73
Girl Cut in Two, A
73
Obscene
73
Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
72
Secret, A
72
Priceless
72
Transsiberian
72
I Served the King of England
71
To the Limit
71
I.O.U.S. A
71
Roman de gare
70
Love Songs
67
Patti Smith: Dream of Life
67
XXY
67
Jellyfish
66
Elegy
66
American Teen
66
When Did You Last See Your Father?
65
August Evening
65
Flow: For Love of Water
64
Brideshead Revisited
64
Duchess, The
64
Fall, The
64
In Search of a Midnight Kiss
63
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63
Appaloosa
63
Man Named Pearl, A
63
Thousand Years of Good Prayers, A
63
Kit Kittredge: An American Girl
62
Kabluey
62
Baghead
62
Girls Rock!
62
Mister Foe
61
Bustin' Down the Door
61
Wackness, The
61
Brick Lane
61
Red
59
Beautiful Losers
58
Save Me
57
Towelhead
57
Amazing Truth About Queen Raquela, The
57
Sixty Six
57
Good Dick
56
Bottle Shock
56
Then She Found Me
55
Year of the Fish
55
Religulous
55
Bra Boys
55
Sukiyaki Western Django
55
Battle in Seattle
55
Ping Pong Playa
54
Hamlet 2
54
CSNY: Déjà Vu
54
What We Do Is Secret
53
Humboldt County
53
Allah Made Me Funny: Live in Concert
52
Virtual JFK: Vietnam If Kennedy Had Lived
52
Elsa & Fred
52
Last Stop for Paul
51
Savage Grace
49
Children of Huang Shi, The
47
Before the Rains
47
Choke
46
Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer
46
My Mexican Shivah
45
Shoot on Sight
44
Henry Poole is Here
41
Cthulhu
40
America the Beautiful
40
Igor
39
Forgiveness
39
Young People F**king
37
Forever Strong
33
Elite Squad
31
Hounddog
28
Fireproof
26
Everybody Wants to Be Italian
25
Hell Ride
16
Surfer, Dude
xx
Choose Connor
xx
Phoebe in Wonderland
xx
Happy-Go-Lucky
xx
All of Us
xx
Whaledreamers
xx
Nights and Weekends
xx
Bachna Ae Haseeno
xx
Ashes of Time Redux
xx
Christmas on Mars: A Fantastical Film Freakout Featuring the Flaming Lips
xx
Breakfast with Scot
xx
Goal II: Living the Dream
xx
Just Buried
xx
Beer for My Horses
xx
Lower Learning
xx
Call and Response
xx
Billy: The Early Years
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
|
Stage Beauty
Lions Gate Films Inc.
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...
90
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.

90
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.

88
Chicago Tribune
Michael Wilmington
A rich, shining valentine to the British theater and the eternal joys of Shakespeare,

88
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.

80
Empire
Alan Morrison
A film that, despite being about theatre itself, is remarkably cinematic and entirely unafraid to revel in the English language.

80
Variety
David Rooney
This skillfully acted, handsomely crafted frock piece toys cleverly with gender confusion and sexual identity.

80
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.

80
Los Angeles Times
Carina Chocano
Sly and witty.

75
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.

75
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.

75
Rolling Stone
Peter Travers
Expertly directed by Richard Eyre (Iris) from Jeffrey Hatcher's play, the film is bawdy fun.

75
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.

75
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.

75
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.

70
Salon.com
Stephanie Zacharek
An entertainment as billowy as a Shakespearean nurse's sail-shaped hat.

70
New York Magazine
Peter Rainer
Crudup, whose features have the appropriate delicacy, plays Ned with complete conviction; its difficult to imagine anyone else succeeding as well.

70
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.

70
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.

70
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.

70
Dallas Observer
Gregory Weinkauf
The design is gorgeous, the dialogue delicious, and even the supporting characters prove resonant.

67
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.

63
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.

63
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.

63
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.

63
Boston Globe
Ty Burr
Yet Crudup does good, mercurial work despite a silly surfer-dude haircut.

60
The New York Times
Dana Stevens
As drama, Stage Beauty is both timorous and ungainly, words that might also describe Ms. Danes's performance.

60
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.

58
Entertainment Weekly
Owen Gleiberman
A celebration of the theater that tends to drag the moment it's out of drag.

58
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
William Arnold
There's an enjoyably literate style here and some humorous moments.

50
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.

50
San Francisco Chronicle
Carla Meyer
The film rarely matches Crudup's performance, appearing confused itself about whether it's farce or drama.

50
Philadelphia Inquirer
Carrie Rickey
Over-orchestrated and underdeveloped interpretation of Jeffrey Hatcher's play.

50
The Onion (A.V. Club)
Keith Phipps
As historical speculation, it's clever enough. As a film, it glows with flop-sweat.

50
Premiere
Staff (Not Credited)
The result is more bawdy diversion than historical fable.

50
Austin Chronicle
Marc Savlov
Both interesting and insufferable.

40
Village Voice
Jessica Winter
Most frustrating, Stage Beauty fumbles XX/XY politics at every turn.

40
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 Im 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.

40
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.
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