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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
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Sex Is Comedy
IFC Films
FILM:
MPAA RATING: Not Rated
Starring
Anne Parillaud,
Grégoire Colin,
Roxane Mesquida,
Ashley Wanninger,
Dominique Colladant,
Bart Binnema,
Yves Osmu,
and
Elisabete Piecho
Inspired by Breillat's own experiences, Sex is Comedy explores the mysteries and humor of social manipulations, sex and power within the confines of a feature-film set. (IFC Films)
| GENRE(S): |
Comedy
|
Drama
|
Foreign
|
| WRITTEN BY: |
Catherine Breillat
|
| DIRECTED BY: |
Catherine Breillat
|
| RELEASE DATE: |
DVD: February 22, 2005
Theatrical: October 20, 2004
|
| RUNNING TIME: |
92 minutes, Color |
| ORIGIN: |
France / Portugal |
| LANGUAGE(S): |
French (with English subtitles) |

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...
83
Entertainment Weekly
Lisa Schwarzbaum
Shows a beguiling aptitude for self-mockery in the pursuit of polemic.

80
The Onion (A.V. Club)
Scott Tobias
When she (Breillat) succeeds, as she does in "Fat Girl" and in the final minutes of Sex Is Comedy, the impact can be overwhelming for filmmaker and audience alike.

80
Chicago Reader
Ted Shen
So perversely enjoyable it gives the lie to her (Breillat's) image as a serious, politically incorrect purveyor of pornographic instincts.

80
LA Weekly
Ernest Hardy
Those who are already in her (Breillat) camp will find much to feed on in this at once intellectualized and accessible, documentary-style peek inside the head of a passionately driven woman and artist.

80
Los Angeles Times
Carina Chocano
Breillat's first foray into comedy is playful, whip-smart and far breezier in both tone and look than the stylized gender polemics she's known for.

75
New York Post
V.A. Musetto
It's a sweet and light-hearted endeavor that shows Breillat isn't a one-trick pony.

75
Boston Globe
Ty Burr
A rigorous and bracingly charming movie about moviemaking.

75
Portland Oregonian
Shawn Levy
Mostly, constant little reminders show that Breillat knows the business of movies in her bones. You can learn from it and enjoy it -- two things I never thought possible to say about a Breillat film until now.

70
TV Guide
Ken Fox
Breillat also offers sharp insights into the love-hate relationship between directors and actors.

70
Washington Post
Desson Thomson
By Breillat's usually dire standards, this is practically a laff riot, and if you want to see her funniest, most accessible movie, this is the one to watch.

70
The New Republic
Stanley Kauffmann
It opens fissures through which we can glimpse oddities and strains in film directing and acting.

70
Salon.com
Stephanie Zacharek
Parillaud's performance is sharp on its surface and soft at its core. And if Jeanne truly is Breillat's alter ego, she is a pitiless self-portrait.

67
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Sean Axmaker
It feels too self-satisfied, but the prickly personalities and relationships have the ring of experience.

63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
Rick Groen
This is amusing, and even poignant in the final moments.

63
ReelViews
James Berardinelli
The film's central flaw is that the characters are haphazardly developed, and don't come across as more interesting than the props.

63
Chicago Sun-Times
Roger Ebert
Sex Is Comedy is not sure what it's really about, or how to get there; the director is seen as flighty and impulsive, the situations seem like set-ups, and we never know what the Actor and Actress are really thinking -- or if thinking has anything to do with it.

60
Film Threat
Rich Cline
It captures both the exhilaration and tedium of the filmmaking process--and of looking for and finding passion wherever it might be.

60
Village Voice
J. Hoberman
Enjoyable if light, until it becomes apparent that Breillat is not simply waxing narcissistic but fashioning a simultaneous critique, explication, and demystification of the lengthy, near-single-take defloration that is Fat Girl's centerpiece.

50
Chicago Tribune
Allison Benedikt
The "comedy" part of Sex is Comedy comes intentionally from cast-crew interaction.

50
New York Daily News
Jack Mathews
A strange creature, a narcissistic mock documentary.

50
Variety
Lisa Nesselson
A not terribly creative movie about the creative process.

50
Christian Science Monitor
David Sterritt
Talky and mostly humorless, but interesting as a reflection of Breillat's experiences directing her own popular film "Fat Girl" in 2001.

50
The New York Times
Dana Stevens
The result is a minor, meandering film.

25
San Francisco Chronicle
Ruthe Stein
Annoying, soporific and singularly humorless.


The average user rating for this movie is 5.5 (out of 10) based on 12 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
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