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Mighty Aphrodite
Miramax Films

Mighty Aphrodite reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 59 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
6.0 out of 10
based on 16 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 2 votes
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Rate this movie

MPAA RATING: R for language and sex-related material

Starring Mira Sorvino, Woody Allen, Helena Bonham Carter, F. Murray Abraham, David Ogden Stiers, and Olympia Dukakis

A New York couple discovers that their adopted son's biological mother (Sorvino, in an Oscar-winning performance) is a hooker and minor porn star.


GENRE(S): Comedy  
WRITTEN BY: Woody Allen  
DIRECTED BY: Woody Allen  
RELEASE DATE: DVD: May 18, 1999 
Video: March 2, 1999 
Theatrical: November 3, 1995 
RUNNING TIME: 98 minutes, Color 
ORIGIN: USA 

Winner, Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Sorvino), 1996 Academy Awards; Nominated, Best Screenplay, 1996 Academy Awards; Winner, Best Screenplay, 1996 Writers Guild of America Awards

What The Critics Said

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...

88
Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
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.
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75
San Francisco Examiner Barbara Shulgasser
It was only natural that Allen would eventually have to make a Greek drama.
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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.
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75
ReelViews James Berardinelli
Allen appears determined to craft a motion picture that can be laughed at without plumbing any especially deep neuroses of the human condition.
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70
Variety Todd McCarthy
A zippy, frothy confection that emerges as agreeable middle-range Woody.
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70
The New York Times Elvis Mitchell
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 Kenneth Turan
A sketchy trifle that is sporadically amusing but also off-putting around the edges.
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70
Washington Post Hal Hinson
It's a mixed bag--deftly and hilariously philosophical in some places, deeply disengaged and prosaic in others.
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63
USA Today Mike Clark
Allen's connective scenes are slack and barely functional, and even his asides lack bite.
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60
Rolling Stone Peter Travers
An uneven blend of mirth and malice.
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60
TV Guide Harlan Jacobson
Is there no one in Allen's circle who dares to tell the master this ain't funny?
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60
The New Yorker Anthony Lane
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.
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50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Liam Lacey
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.
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50
Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum
Allen gets a chance to unload all his usual patronizing contempt for and middle-class "wisdom" about his own working-class origins.
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50
Washington Post Desson Thomson
In this loser-and-the-whore story line, Allen's sensibilities have taken a turn for the nasty.
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40
Austin Chronicle Steve Davis
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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What Our Users Said

Vote Now!The average user rating for this movie is 6.0 (out of 10) based on 2 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Anthony M. gave it a10:
This movie is halrious; and ultimately, very sweet. The parady of a Greek chorus alone is worth the price of a DVD. But be warned! If your idea of great movie making involves in any way special effects laden films about the interspecies romances of sexy girls and chimps with hyperractive tyroids, you probably should skip this movie.

Laura J. gave it a2:
What boring, terrible crap. I cannot beleive Woody Allen directed thid piece of garbage!!

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