Delicatessen
Metascore
66 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 17 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 17
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 17
  3. Negative: 2 out of 17
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  1. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Staff (Not Credited)
    100
    Delicatessen is an ingeniously funny film with a surprisingly sweet romance at its center.
  2. Salon.com
    Reviewed by: Jenn Shreve
    100
    I didn't need to understand every word to see what a beautiful film this was - each camera shot a carefully composed masterpiece that immerses the viewer in a realm of luxuriant imagination.
  3. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Duane Byrge
    90
    The slapstick is classic-level stuff, the kind of domino-effect precision that is lost in most of today's clumsy farces.
  4. Variety
    Reviewed by: Staff (Not Credited)
    90
    Beautifully textured, cleverly scripted and eerily shot (often with a wideangle lens making characters look even weirder), Delicatessan is a zany little film that's a startling and clever debut for co-helmers Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro.
  5. Austin Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Marc Savlov
    89
    Set in some sort of post-apocalyptic Parisian deli o' the damned, this lunatic's take on the future of man is so delightfully warped that it's impossible to shake it out of your head and go get a decent night's sleep.
  6. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Clifford Terry
    88
    Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro's "Delicatessen" is an exuberantly wacky, perversely droll black comedy with an ample dose of gentle whimsy-"Eating Raoul" out of "Mr. Hulot's Holiday." [17 Apr 1992]
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  7. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Jay Carr
    88
    What keeps the film going, and helps it keep its comic tone, is the constant threat of cataclysm - and the deadpan Buster Keaton charm of the ever-responsive Pinon as he combats the giant Rube Goldberg meat-grinder that the house, in effect, is. [17 Apr 1992]
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  8. Empire
    Reviewed by: Jack Yeovil
    80
    This is still a delightfully original picture, poised perfectly between farce and horror.
  9. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: J. Hoberman
    70
    Delicatessen may be junk food, but it's served with the discretion of nouvelle cuisine. [07 Apr 1992]
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  10. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Michael Wilmington
    70
    The film itself is playful, weird, unpredictable and a bit tasteless. [10 Apr 1992]
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  11. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Janet Maslin
    70
    Among the things that deserve mention in this lightweight but sometimes subversively stylish farce are its ingenious credit sequence, its lively editing by Herve Schneid, its use of code names like Artichoke Heart and Cordon Bleu in the guerrilla war that rages underground and its reference to a couple of odd inventions.
  12. USA Today
    Reviewed by: Mike Clark
    63
    co-directors Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro know their craft; of the films here, only Othello has a more trenchant visual style. [30 Apr 1992]
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  13. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Mick LaSalle
    50
    A smirky cleverness infects much of the picture, yet some scenes are so skillfully created that it's hard not to admire them, and Dominique Pinon's sensitive performance as a retired circus man gives the movie a soul. [10 Apr 1992]
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  14. The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
    Reviewed by: Jay Scott
    50
    Delicatessen is a carniverous sausage - lots of fat, a few meaty bits. [10 Apr 1992]
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  15. Christian Science Monitor
    Reviewed by: David Sterritt
    50
    Delicatessen seems overstuffed at times, unable to digest its own surfeit of jokes, tricks, and surprises.
  16. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Rita Kempley
    30
    A punky, futuristic effort by Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro, it is a tasteless variation on "Sweeney Todd" set geographically near the border of Terry Gilliam's "Brazil."
  17. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: Jonathan Rosenbaum
    30
    There are no characters to care about or remember afterward - just a lot of flashy technique involving decor, some glib allegorical flourishes, and the obligatory studied film-school weirdness.

User Reviews

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User Score
7.6 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 13 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 4
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 4
  3. Negative: 1 out of 4
  1. Cal
    10
    Brilliant film
  2. ERG1008
    8
    Quirky French comedy/thriller (if you can call it that) with some great characters & all round weirdness.
    The film is almost shot entirely wit    h a sepia tint which ads to the claustrophobia of it all. Also a mention for the brilliant music by Carlos D'Alessio.… Full Review »
  3. BillS.
    9
    A French circus gone bonkers. Surreal love story.
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