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A Previous Engagement
Metascore
46 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 8 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 8
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 8
  3. Negative: 1 out of 8
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  1. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Lou Lumenick
    75
    While this slow-starting update of "Private Lives" has plenty of laughs, the incredibly expressive (and too-seldom seen) Stevenson turns Julia's romantic dilemma into something genuinely moving. She makes A Previous Engagement something special.
  2. Variety
    Reviewed by: John Anderson
    70
    Stevenson casts her usual magic in this frankly adult, determinedly lighthearted comedy of romantic errors.
  3. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Maitland McDonagh
    50
    Even Stevenson, a singularly accomplished and versatile actress, can't do much with Julia's early scenes, in which she's forced to dither around like a complete idiot.
  4. Salon.com
    Reviewed by: Andrew O'Hehir
    50
    I'm not big on those Pauline Kael-style encomiums to great actors in mediocre material, but that's exactly what we've got here. Stevenson is so incandescent -- so funny, so vulnerable, so awkwardly sexy.
  5. L.A. Weekly
    Reviewed by: Tatyana Gershkovich
    50
    Stevenson manages to deliver a few poignant moments of nostalgia for the pleasures of youth against the stunning backdrop of the Maltese coastline.
  6. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Robert Abele
    40
    A dreary experience.
  7. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Jeannette Catsoulis
    40
    More tired than the fantasy it promotes, A Previous Engagement aims at middle-aged women with the subtlety of a pitch for bladder-control medication.
  8. The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
    Reviewed by: Jason Anderson
    38
    Though frantic from the get-go, A Previous Engagement rarely finds its feet. Devoid of the fine balance of grace and chaos necessary to any screen farce, the proceedings are slapdash, repetitious and badly overextended.
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