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Groove
Sony Pictures Classics


8.6

based on 25 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 10 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

FILM:

November

MPAA RATING: R for drug use, language and brief sexuality

Starring Lola Glaudini, Hamish Linklater, and Denny Kirkwood

This film is set during one night in the San Francisco underground rave scene.

GENRE(S):	Drama
WRITTEN BY:	Greg Harrison
DIRECTED BY:	Greg Harrison
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: December 5, 2000 Video: December 5, 2000 Theatrical: June 9, 2000
RUNNING TIME:	86 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

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...

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker

Pleasantly modest, endearingly etched and briskly set to a pounding beat.

Newsweek David Ansen

Lively, likable and refreshingly unsensationalistic about the drugs and sex that come with the territory, this techno-propelled mash note to the rave spirit sticks to the surface.

Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten

A fun, well-assembled and -performed slice of life that requires no special affinity with the subject matter in order to -- ahem -- get one's groove on.

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

What's infectious about Groove is the friendly, almost innocent way that its brat pack of digital-age bohemians seek liberation in a world where there is nothing left to rebel against.

Chicago Tribune Mark Caro

If you require fine writing, sharp plotting and consistently good acting, you will be in for a long 86 minutes.

Slate David Edelstein

Groove offers the most wholesome vision of orgiastic oneness imaginable -- it's a raver's version of "The Love Boat."

Chicago Reader Lisa Alspector

Divided into sections bracketed by the arrival of each new DJ and is enlivened by the edgy yet trendy environment.

Dallas Observer Bill Gallo

As a musical feast, Groove works well. As a celebration of tribal ritual, it's even better.

The New York Times A.O. Scott

The film's seductive lack of pretension will make a fan of you.

San Francisco Examiner Wesley Morris

This is not the addictive, hot-wired movie you want.

Baltimore Sun Ann Hornaday

Has a sweetness to it that's irresistible, and its techno, trance and jungle soundtrack is as infectious and hypnotic as a contact high.

New York Post Jonathan Foreman

Contains too many weak performances and predictable lines to succeed, but it's probably the best rave movie so far.

LA Weekly Ella Taylor

What gives the movie its coltish charm is Harrison's scene-setting feel for the indomitable brio of kids.

San Francisco Chronicle Peter Stack

The music and wizard DJs in Groove are better than the dopey story.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

I liked the music. I would rather have the movie's soundtrack than see Groove again--or at all.

Film.com Robert Horton

The story of Groove... provides an ingratiating road map to a cultural phenomenon. Just make sure you drink lots of water while you're there.

New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman

If you're a rave virgin, it'll more likely make you feel like the guest nobody invited. And why would you pay nine bucks for that?

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

A sweet-natured ode to rave culture saddled with a ridiculously clichéd plot line.

Mr. Showbiz Michael Atkinson

Its characters and plot are almost wholly negligible. It's just a party.

Washington Post Desson Thomson

The best thing about this movie? It's short.

Village Voice Dennis Lim

Groove is less a work of subcultural ethnography than a curiously dorky act of hipster sincerity, less party movie than cheesy valentine

Los Angeles Times John Anderson

There's not enough sustained musical momentum to simulate the energy of an actual rave; the characters are likable but unremarkable.

Portland Oregonian Kim Morgan

Groove seems to be less about what it is chronicling than what its attempting to decipher.

Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez

But there's nothing in this amateurish movie that the opening credits of last year's "Go" didn't do better.

Philadelphia Inquirer Dan DeLuca

Unfortunately, it lacks a compelling story or characters of any complexity.

The average user rating for this movie is 8.6 (out of 10) based on 10 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Elvis K. gave it a 10:
This movie was awsome showed the real life of kids these days what they do at clubs/raves --- thumbs up for me cause I can relate to it.

A. A. gave it a 10:
Great.

Cayman gave it a 9:
Excellent ! If you went to raves in the early 90's this'll be a real trip down memory lane. Each character, eveything said, every episode is an accurate representaion of what was happening at those gatherings. A very positive movie for those positive times.

Sid Vicious gave it a 10:
Great ! Excellent ! This movie relates a thrue ambiance of what used to be raves in the early 90's in Europe, even if it seems to be an American production. As a documentary, don't miss it : this is a real photography of a part of an avant-garde generation, enjoying a new kind of nightlife live, far from addiction to commercial purposes and fu**ing boring commercial nightclubs !

Blanco A. gave it a 7:
Definitely fun for what it is. Don't expect much going in, and you'll enjoy it.

Amanda gave it a 10:
This movie kicked ass if you are in to the Rave scene and/or are a techo music enthusiast.

Joe Lame gave it a 0:
Boring, cheesy, cliched, a waste of time.

Groove Sony Pictures Classics

Groove
Sony Pictures Classics