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Educating Rita
Columbia Pictures


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based on 9 reviews
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MPAA RATING: PG

Starring Michael Caine, Julie Walters, Michael Williams, and Maureen Lipman

Bored with her life as a hairdresser, and under pressure from her husband to start a family, Rita enrolls in literature tutorials at a British university determined to better herself. (Paramount Pictures)

GENRE(S):	Comedy \| Drama \| Romance
WRITTEN BY:	Willy Russell (also play)
DIRECTED BY:	Lewis Gilbert
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: March 23, 2005 Theatrical: September 21, 1983
RUNNING TIME:	110 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	UK

Won Golden Globes for Actor and Actress in a Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical (Michael Caine and Julie Walters). Oscar nominations for Lead Actor (Michael Caine), Lead Actress (Julie Walters) and Writing, Material from Another Medium.

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Variety Staff (Not Credited)

Aided greatly by an expert film adaptation by its playwright, Willy Russell, Gilbert has come up with an irresistible story about a lively, lower-class British woman hungering for an education and the rather, staid, degenerating English professor who reluctantly provides her with one.

Empire Ian Nathan

Lewis Gilbert, and two career best performances from his leading actors, give this film such energy it leaves the pleasant aroma of life and possibility.

TV Guide Staff (Not Credited)

This is a poignant if predictable take on the English class system, buoyed by an effervescent performance from Walters.

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

The plot is ''Pygmalion'' warmed over, but Michael Caine and Julie Walters give sparkling performances, and director Lewis Gilbert keeps the action humming along.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Jay Scott

The achievement of Educating Rita is a function of the distinguished performances, the agreeably archetypal situation and the scissor-sharp lines. [23 Sep 1983]

Chicago Reader Dave Kehr

The film doesn't transcend its genre, but it's an honorable achievement within it.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

Educating Rita, which might have been a charming human comedy, disintegrated into a forced march through a formula relationship.

The New York Times Janet Maslin

The essentially two-character play has been opened up to the point that it includes a variety of settings and subordinate figures, but it never approaches anything lifelike.

Boston Globe Michael Blowen

If you were ever curious how a bad director can destroy the work of two talented actors and a slight, but funny, script, you need look no further than Educating Rita. [28 Oct 1983]

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Educating Rita Columbia Pictures

Educating Rita
Columbia Pictures