| 88 |
Chicago Sun-Times
The movie reveals its serious undertones (with commentary by the Greek chorus, which occasionally breaks into song and dance) while at the same time developing a plot that lends itself to slapstick.
|
| 75 |
San Francisco Examiner
Barbara Shulgasser
It was only natural that Allen would eventually have to make a Greek drama.
|
| 75 |
San Francisco Chronicle
Leah Garchik
Woody Allen's incredible wit is at the heart of all that's wonderful in Mighty Aphrodite, and Woody Allen's incredible ego is at the core of its major flaw.
|
| 75 |
ReelViews
Allen appears determined to craft a motion picture that can be laughed at without plumbing any especially deep neuroses of the human condition.
|
| 70 |
Variety
A zippy, frothy confection that emerges as agreeable middle-range Woody.
|
| 70 |
The New York Times
Dependably well made and not quite like any Allen film that came before. Nimble film making like this isn’t necessarily geared to the magnum opus, but Mr. Allen can achieve fine, amusing results even while thinking small. [27 October 1995, P.C1]
|
| 70 |
Los Angeles Times
A sketchy trifle that is sporadically amusing but also off-putting around the edges.
|
| 70 |
Washington Post
Hal Hinson
It's a mixed bag--deftly and hilariously philosophical in some places, deeply disengaged and prosaic in others.
|
| 63 |
USA Today
Allen's connective scenes are slack and barely functional, and even his asides lack bite.
|
| 60 |
Rolling Stone
An uneven blend of mirth and malice.
|
| 60 |
TV Guide
Harlan Jacobson
Is there no one in Allen's circle who dares to tell the master this ain't funny?
|
| 60 |
The New Yorker
It treads enjoyably over old ground, and it has a surprisingly foul mouth, though rather than cruising along with the ease of Allen's best work it tends to hobble, and it closes in a flurry of undecided endings.
|
| 50 |
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
Fans of Allen, the comedian, will be glad to hear there are more chuckles here than in his last film, "Bullets Over Broadway." Fans of Allen, the plot craftsman, will find a lot less discipline and imagination in the writing. In truth, Mighty Aphrodite is mighty slight.
|
| 50 |
Chicago Reader
Allen gets a chance to unload all his usual patronizing contempt for and middle-class "wisdom" about his own working-class origins.
|
| 50 |
Washington Post
In this loser-and-the-whore story line, Allen's sensibilities have taken a turn for the nasty.
|
| 40 |
Austin Chronicle
Mighty Aphrodite may take its thematic and structural cues from Greek tragedy, but it's second-rate Borscht Belt all the way.
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