| 80 |
Chicago Reader
Lisa Alspector
Gutsy romance-drama that breaks a cardinal rule of storytelling and pop psychology: its iconic lovers aren't forced by a tragedy to learn that they shouldn't depend on each other to feel whole.
|
| 80 |
Salon.com
Stephanie Zacharek
Even after losing its sexiest, tawdriest moments, this teen romance is still hotter, smarter and more fearless than its Hollywood contemporaries.
|
| 80 |
The New York Times
Dana Stevens
It is an enormous improvement over the brainless, patronizing teenage romances that have slouched into (and quickly out of) theaters in recent years. But it could, if the filmmakers had trusted themselves and the actors a bit more, have lived up to its title.
|
| 80 |
Los Angeles Times
Kenneth Turan
Very much of a guilty pleasure. A nifty piece of teenage romantic piffle, it combines two strong and attractive performances.
|
| 80 |
Mr. Showbiz
Cody Clark
A teenage movie that trusts its audience -- it sounds crazy, but it's actually quite beautiful.
|
| 75 |
Chicago Tribune
Mark Caro
Stockwell deserves kudos for working mental illness into a teen story without making it the explicit focus, as in simplistic exercises like "Girl, Interrupted."
|
| 75 |
USA Today
Susan Wloszczyna
Atypical teen drama about opposites attracting that often (and happily) confounds expectations.
|
| 75 |
Miami Herald
Rene Rodriguez
Fast, wacky and bubbling with passion or dark, troubled and doomed. In the unusually titled crazy/beautiful, it's all those things at once.
|
| 75 |
Baltimore Sun
Chris Kaltenbach
The story seems fresh and alive. They also had the good sense to cast Dunst, at 19 already one of Hollywood's finest and most consistent actresses.
|
| 75 |
San Francisco Chronicle
Wesley Morris
Even when the movie is bad -- it's addictively so.
|
| 75 |
New York Daily News
Jami Bernard
An impressive portrait of the migraine of teenage girlhood, and also works on the more modest level of teen romance.
|
| 75 |
Philadelphia Inquirer
Steven Rea
An intelligent romance that cuts against the grain of the youth-pic genre, crazy/beautiful boasts a scarily good performance from Dunst.
|
| 75 |
Chicago Sun-Times
Roger Ebert
Tougher, less sentimental mirror version of "Save the Last Dance."
|
| 75 |
Entertainment Weekly
Owen Gleiberman
Dunst, in her finest performance yet, has now transcended her fellow teen stars. She is arguably the first actress of her generation poised to take on Gwyneth and Julia.
|
| 70 |
New Times (L.A.)
Luke Y. Thompson
There's enough substance here to make Crazy/Beautiful more than worthwhile for its target audience, and certainly more useful than the standard teen crapfests.
|
| 67 |
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
William Arnold
An absorbing little drama full of unexpected revelations, keen insights into the Anglo and Hispanic cultures of L.A., and strong supporting performances.
|
| 67 |
Austin Chronicle
Kimberley Jones
Movingly captures the terrors and delights of being lovesick at 17. Would that it hadn't felt constrained to target only the 17-year-olds.
|
| 67 |
Portland Oregonian
Kim Morgan
Really a vehicle for Dunst, which would be fine if only the vehicle were more inspired.
|
| 63 |
Boston Globe
Jay Carr
To have been the film it could have been, crazy/beautiful needed to be messier.
|
| 60 |
LA Weekly
Ella Taylor
Crazy/beautiful has a leisurely local specificity, and Stockwell has a tender way with his actors.
|
| 50 |
Variety
Todd McCarthy
The significant potential of its premise is squandered by an increasing reliance on teen movie cliches, silly plotting and the urge to be upbeat rather than to communicate life lessons.
|
| 50 |
New York Post
Jonathan Foreman
Courageous, convincing performance by Dunst.
|
| 30 |
Washington Post
Nicole Arthur
Surprisingly mawkish teen film.
|
| 30 |
Village Voice
Amy Taubin
Overproduced as a Super Bowl soft-drink commercial, so much so that even its potentially insightful moments seem like movie fakery.
|
| 30 |
TV Guide
Steve Simels
Numbingly predictable.
|
| 20 |
Rolling Stone
Peter Travers
From the lowercase lettering of the title to the deadly familiarity of the plot, there is much to grate on your nerves in this TV Afterschool Special trying to pass as a real movie.
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