Avenue Montaigne
THINKFilm | Release Date: February 16, 2007 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
64
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 25 Critic Reviews
Positive:
21
Mixed:
3
Negative:
1

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
83
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
A thoroughly enjoyably and wistfully charming ensemble drama carried off with an irresistible Gallic flair. Read full review
83
Portland OregonianMarc Mohan
While this sort of thing can easily devolve into bourgeois comfort food, Thompson, a veteran of the genre, knows how to serve it up just about right. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
The film uses effective acting, deft dialogue, and a sly wit to entertain, if not educate. Read full review
75
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
Thompson's stories are familiar, but she weaves them together with such assurance and good humor that they're equally soothing and thoroughly enjoyable. Read full review
75
PremiereEthan Alter
All of the actors are on point (Dupontel and Morante are particularly good), the individual story arcs are involving, if not exactly complex, and Thompson keeps the proceedings moving along at a comfortable clip. Read full review
75
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
Rarely has Paris seemed more enchanting than in Danièle Thompson's optimistic ode to Gallic romance. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleRuthe Stein
That the film succeeds as well as it does despite a series of coincidences that strain credibility is a credit to a fine cast and a joie de vivre that pervades even the most implausible moments. Read full review
75
Baltimore SunChris Kaltenbach
Director Daniele Thompson gets the point across so airily and pleasantly, in a film cast to perfection, that it's no problem accepting the message with a shrug, while profoundly enjoying the messenger. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam Lacey
Avenue Montaigne is not a film to be taken too earnestly, but it would be a mistake to miss its bittersweet undertones. The movie is as airy as a spun-sugar dessert, but Thompson's observations on the artistic life are both affectionate and knowing: Beauty and wealth, though inevitably compelling, are appreciated as means to humane ends, not goals in themselves. Read full review
70
Chicago ReaderRonnie Scheib
Effortlessly interlinking the stories through the jaunty perambulations of a fresh-faced waitress from a local cafe, Thomson's crowd-pleaser makes up in refined schmaltz what it lacks in innovation or profundity. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterKirk Honeycutt
Bookending the film is the relationship between Jessica and the grandmother who raised her. This role is delightfully played by Suzanne Flon, who recently died at age 87. The film is dedicated to the veteran actress. Read full review
70
VarietyLisa Nesselson
A well-oiled script is nicely served by a multigenerational cast, a bittersweet and consistently entertaining mainstream comedy that tackles the big themes of Life and Art with unpretentious brio. Read full review
70
Village VoiceElla Taylor
Not that Thompson's films lack for romance. She shoots Paris like Woody Allen shoots New York--ritzy, golden, and packed with chance meetings between highly strung arty types. Read full review
70
SalonAndrew O'Hehir
Avenue Montaigne, is a delicious French pastry, tart and sweet, steeped in Parisian glamour. Read full review
70
The New York TimesManohla Dargis
Avenue Montaigne is a bonbon, not a bouillabaisse. But because this is finally a film about desire, it carries a bittersweet tang. Read full review
70
Washington PostDesson Thomson
Avenue Montaigne transforms an overwhelming metropolis into a user-friendly village with quirkily appealing characters. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
Avenue Montaigne may not be a centimeter deeper than it needs to be, but you also won't be feeling that your pocket was picked when it's over. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
For Yank color in her soap-bubbly movie, director Daniele Thompson has her pal Sydney Pollack appear as...a famous director. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleJosh Rosenblatt
With her lithe frame and insouciantly boyish mop of blond hair, De France is a particularly French sort of film heroine. Read full review
63
Chicago TribuneMichael Phillips
Originally titled "Orchestra Seats," Montaigne takes a page from the "Amelie" playbook, without the fancy visuals or magical realism. Read full review
63
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
Has a breezy, Altmanesque air, as it tracks the mini-dramas of its crisscrossing characters. Read full review
50
New York Magazine (Vulture)David Edelstein
Avenue Montaigne would be difficult to stomach if it weren't so light and uninsistent, and if its actors weren't so charming. I still rolled my eyes--but sometimes I do that when I get a really good croissant. Read full review
50
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
It's formula stuff, to be sure, but full of feeling for the sweep of the past as well as for the unsettled, yearning present.
50
Boston GlobeTy Burr
Aside from pretty people behaving cutely, there's just not much here, and even devoted Francophiles may nod into their cafe crèmes. Read full review
38
New York PostV.A. Musetto
A lightweight French comedy worth watching only for Cecile de France. The gamine actress - decked out in short reddish hair, black tights and a thigh-high mini - is charming as Jessica. Read full review
More From This Movie

64 Critic Reviews

7.5 User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 81 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
2 77 Project Hail Mary
3 75 Send Help
4 73 Hoppers
5 72 The Sheep Detectives
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL