Metascore

Universal acclaim - based on 40 Critics What's this?

User Score

Generally favorable reviews- based on 351 Ratings

  • Summary: This is a romantic comedy set in Paris about a family that goes there because of business, and two young people who are engaged to be married in the fall have experiences there that change their lives. It's about a young man's great love for a city, Paris and the illusion people have that a life different from theirs would be much better. (Sony Classic Pictures) Expand
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 40 out of 40
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 40
  3. Negative: 0 out of 40
  1. Reviewed by: Steve Persall
    Jun 8, 2011
    100
    Allen eventually gets to the heart of this matter: the allure and danger of nostalgia.
  2. Reviewed by: Joe Neumaier
    May 20, 2011
    80
    As in "Purple Rose," the film works best when tweaking the disparate worlds thrown together, though "Midnight" is frothier, and so Wilson shines.
  3. Reviewed by: Kerry Lengel
    May 26, 2011
    80
    A delicious trifle for anyone who has ever dreamt of bantering about the cinema with Luis Buñuel or lounging at the piano to hear Cole Porter sing "Let's Do It."
  4. Reviewed by: J.R. Jones
    May 26, 2011
    80
    Woody Allen's bad movies often seem to be taking place in some kind of upper-class fantasy world, which may be the reason I find this upfront fantasy to be his funniest, most agreeable comedy in years.

See all 40 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 89 out of 108
  2. Negative: 8 out of 108
  1. I had no clue, this movie would be so good.I actually never heard of it, before I watched it. It turned out to be an instant Classic! I loved the idea of walking around in different times. This movie inspired me big time! Expand
  2. I'm ashamed of myself that I never watched a single Woody Allen movie until now. "Midnight in Paris" is just simply dazzling. The script is smart and provokes intriguing ideas, Owen Wilson is a crappy actor, but not in this movie; Woody Allen pulls out his usefulness and makes him act in his superior form. This is a film any moviegoer or book lover can enjoy altogether. Expand
  3. This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. A generally enjoyable, clever movie with an interesting premise, Certainly the best Woody Allen movie in at least 15 years (which isn't saying much). At the same time, you get the feeling that either Woody is in over his head, or that he really is the kind of humanities major, overly awed hack writer that he he portrays in the main character Gil. (Of course, Woody anticipates this kind of criticism in the character of the pseudo-intellectual Paul, which is itself a kind of set-up.) I would have preferred less (albeit amusing) name-dropping and greater development of the personas of the artists he so admires. My biggest criticism is that Woody seems to feel the need to spell out his point (i.e., about the problems in over-idealizing the past) for the audience, which suggest that most viewers aren't capable of figuring the point out for themselves (which may be true). P.S. Marion Cotillard is luminous, both in her acting and in appearance. Expand
  4. CMC
    4
    If you really like most all Woody Allen films, you will probably like this one. Considered as breezy entertainment, it is as you might expect better than most Hollywood fare, but that bar is not too high. Owen Wilson becomes boring as he is given few good lines, portraying a perpetually confused and boring person, and the occasional Woody Allen quip seems out of character for the goy Texas boy. Adrian Brody as Dali is by far the best, and I suspect it is because he did an improv on his role and everyone liked it, while the others are too submissive to Alen's uninspired direction. Perhaps the most disappointing feature is how un-emotive Paris is; how hard is it to miss when combining Paris and nostalgia? A big problem is that even the "real" characters are such extreme caricatures, you just can get too interested. I became bored by Allen's latest sleepwalking exercise. Expand

See all 108 User Reviews

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