| 75 |
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
The big downside of the film is that it always feels slightly contrived.
|
| 70 |
Dallas Observer
M. V. Moorhead
A highly likable movie.
|
| 66 |
Mr. Showbiz
An intermittently irresistible entertainment.
|
| 63 |
Chicago Sun-Times
Has little islands of humor and even perfection, floating in a sea of missed marks and murky intentions.
|
| 60 |
Film.com
A mixed bag, all in all (casting Huey Lewis was not the best idea), but worth seeing.
|
| 60 |
The New York Times
Every so often a movie comes along that's bad in such original and unexpected ways that it inspires an almost admiring fascination
|
| 50 |
Washington Post
Megan Rosenfeld
If scriptwriter Byrum hadn't tried to cram every possible theme into this film -- hoping, no doubt, they would all add up to greatness -- Duets would be an entertaining, wryly observed slice of Americana.
|
| 50 |
Philadelphia Inquirer
Duets is to movies what karaoke is to pop: a spirited attempt by non-pros.
|
| 50 |
San Francisco Chronicle
Appealing, and ultimately moving.
|
| 50 |
Salon.com
A simple entertainment that's by and large carried on the backs of its actors, some who are wonderful and others who are merely likable.
|
| 50 |
Chicago Tribune
The joys of singing give the movie a hook, but when Duets aims for lyricism, it's got a tin ear.
|
| 50 |
Variety
Lack of much substance or dramatic payoff makes the whole significantly less than sum of its parts.
|
| 50 |
Christian Science Monitor
Too crisp and calculated to match the moods of its wild and woolly characters, and its interwoven subplots lead to predictable outcomes.
|
| 50 |
Miami Herald
Simply creaks with contrivance -- particularly in its overwrought finale.
|
| 50 |
USA Today
The ensemble cast, struggling with wanly written characters, hits more clunkers than high notes.
|
| 50 |
Chicago Reader
Slight but savory.
|
| 50 |
New York Daily News
Hard to take stone-cold sober.
|
| 42 |
Entertainment Weekly
Steve Daly
A leaden piece of whimsy that looks for profound life lessons among a group of karaoke bar aficionados.
|
| 38 |
Boston Globe
Hits mostly flat notes, then a few really sour ones.
|
| 38 |
San Francisco Examiner
Miserable as it crawls for two eternal hours toward being "life-affirming."
|
| 38 |
Baltimore Sun
Giamatti provides those small moments of triumph that Duets pretends to celebrate but instead stifles with its sense of superiority.
|
| 33 |
Portland Oregonian
To be fair, there are moments when the film seems better than, finally, it is.
|
| 30 |
LA Weekly
Why the devotion to such dull material?
|
| 30 |
TV Guide
This soft, formulaic comedy/drama has a far better cast than it deserves, and they work their hearts out trying to bring life to a cliched script.
|
| 30 |
Village Voice
A road movie, though there's a decided lack of forward motion.
|
| 30 |
Austin Chronicle
Only the most indulgent would fail to notice that this movie can't hold a tune.
|
| 30 |
Los Angeles Times
By the time Duets faces the music, hardly anyone is going to care.
|
| 25 |
New York Post
The talented cast doesn't stand much of a chance in this rambling, pointless narrative.
|
| 20 |
Washington Post
A conceptual train wreck, with half an idea scattered like disaster debris all over the screen.
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