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Pretty Persuasion
User Score
7.9 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 18 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 18
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 18
  3. Negative: 2 out of 18

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  1. FannyO.
    Aug 12, 2005
    9
    Very black, very funny, better than Heathers.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  2. JasonA.
    Aug 12, 2005
    10
    I LOVED THIS MOVIE!!! It's like nothing you've seen before. Believe me.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  3. davido.
    Aug 13, 2005
    9
    Hot, funny, nasty great date movie.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  4. roryo.
    Aug 9, 2005
    7
    This is a pretty funny movie in my opinion.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  5. ArielG.
    Feb 12, 2006
    9
    Very sharp satire about high school life in these current times. Evan Rachel Wood shone in her dual role as the good girl and the schemer. There are parts in this movie which may offend some racial groups, so be wary. Offensive language and simulated sex scenes are featured occasionally - Don't watch it with your parents, unless you want to cringe with embarassment. But do see it if you're a fan of biting comedies and satirical high school movies like Election.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  6. Gettford
    Aug 13, 2005
    5
    Decent movie, though the fact that it was filmed at my high school (Loyola) kept throwing me off. James Woods was hilarious, but there was definitely something missing in this film. And the ending absolutely SUCKED. There was decent material here, but it could have been re-written 3 or 4 more times. And sadly Elisabeth Harnois ("Point Pleasant") couldn't act her way out of a paper bag -- at least she didn't show it in this role. Verdict? Skip it. (And you'd might as well check out the amazing "Junebug")… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  7. JaneA.
    Sep 3, 2005
    10
    It's Clever and Funny and Harsh. Well-written. Incisive look at highschool and contemporary attitudes.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  8. AnnieM
    Aug 16, 2005
    3
    The only good thing about the film is Evan RAchel Wood but she still can't save the terrible directing.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  9. nana
    Aug 16, 2005
    10
    Excellent portrayal of issues plaguing modern youth. Many significant themes weave through this must-see (perhaps more than once) film, some subtle, and some not-so-subtle.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  10. JS
    Aug 23, 2005
    3
    It's not that it was offensive, it was that it wasn't funny. Michael Hitchcock gave the most laughs and he was only in about 3 scenes. Perhaps it is that he is actually good at comedy? It probably isn't fair to dismiss the rest of the cast as talentless, so maybe it was the direction and screenplay. Speaking of the screenplay, it seemed as if about half the movie was written at a computer and the other half was written at a dart board. Halfway or 2/3rs through it just falls apart into random scenes that make desperate attempts at being meaningful and heartfelt. Only they come off as random and desperate. I think the film's major problem is that it ultimately wasn't absurd or subtle. Cartmen of South Park is funny because he is so extremely offensive. Other comedies are funny because they are subtle and thought provoking. This film sits in between the two; crass as it may be, the offensive material doesn't go far enough. The screenplay writer will say he was trying to make real people, not absurdities. That's fine, but none of these people are at all believable and even if they were, they wouldn't be funny.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  11. ChadS.
    Feb 14, 2006
    5
    At first, "Pretty Persuasion" seems like a "Heathers"-wanna-be. In both films, the protagonist wants to be a good person. But when we arrive at the final scene, it's hard not to see this mean-spirited teen comedy as a sort of "In the Company of [Teenage Girls]". Kimberly is Chad(Aaron Eckhart in the Neal LaBute film) in a skirt. What happens to Randa(Adi Schnall) is too heavy-handed; too serious a truth about Muslim attitudes towards their girls who besmirch the family's "good" name, in a film that uses the Arab teen as color. And what Brittany(Elisabeth Harnois) performs at a school-play rehearsal is about as unlikely as Meg Ryan's fake orgasm in "When Harry Met Sally". It's very unpleasant. "Pretty Persuasion" also needlessly tells its story in a non-linear fashion, and trades the world of teenage girls for the world of courtrooms to the detriment of the "teen film"-genre it's trying to skewer.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
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Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
45 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 29 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 29
  2. Mixed: 14 out of 29
  3. Negative: 9 out of 29
  1. Film Threat
    Reviewed by: Jeremy Mathews
    50
    Kills itself with unrestrained negativism, but almost resuscitates itself with some great comedy.
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  2. Variety
    Reviewed by: Dennis Harvey
    40
    An exercise in bad taste that takes itself just seriously enough to be offensive.
    Read full review
  3. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Ben Kenigsberg
    40
    A high school send-up more gleefully incorrect than "Heathers" and considerably less articulate than "Election," Pretty Persuasion is a hand grenade lobbed at no place in particular.
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