Blue in the Face
Miramax Films | Release Date: October 13, 1995 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
56
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 16 Critic Reviews
Positive:
9
Mixed:
5
Negative:
2
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
The film is so exuberant that we don't care whether we're listening to Lou Reed's off-the-cuff comments about New York, watching Mel Gorham do a sexy dance in front of a mirror, or hearing Jim Jarmusch's ramblings on the romance of the smoking culture. Read full review
83
Entertainment WeeklyTy Burr
The improvisations are a mixed bag -- Reed and Fox are surprisingly hilarious, while Roseanne is a shrieking horror show -- but the air of gentle play and a wistful sense that Brooklyn is some kind of lost Eden put this one up on the more structured "Smoke." Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesKevin Thomas
[The movie has] considerable charm and humor....Adam Holender's fresh, airy camera work and a vibrant electric score also add vitality to an all-talk film. [13 Oct 1999, p.F8]
80
The New York TimesJanet Maslin
Good-humored, try-anything fun. Read full review
75
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
The results are ragged, disjointed, and endearing. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
The lows never last too long - something invariably jumps out to recapture our interest or prompt a chuckle. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChroniclePeter Stack
A filmic hug for Brooklyn. Read full review
63
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
Some of the bits work and others don't, but no one seems to be keeping score, and that's part of the movie's charm. Read full review
63
San Francisco ExaminerBarbara Shulgasser
More about having a good time with some interesting people than it is about watching a fine movie. Read full review
60
VarietyDavid Stratton
A piecemeal collection of barely connected scenes and characters, stitched together with videotaped comments from a cross-section of Brooklyn residents. Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
Jim Jarmusch's elegiac, hilarious performance as a man about to smoke his final cigarette is brilliant. Read full review
50
TV Guide MagazineHarlan Jacobson
Feels less like a movie than a lost episode of the old Steve Allen or Jack Paar late-night chat shows. Read full review
50
Washington PostHal Hinson
An unpredictable, occasionally amusing, wildly uneven portrait of a neighborhood struggling to hold on to its identity. Read full review
40
The New YorkerTerrence Rafferty
The pointlessness would be vastly more appealing if Wang and Auster didn't make such a point of it. Read full review
30
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
Easy to take but even easier to leave alone. Read full review
25
Rolling StonePeter Travers
What a bold notion for a movie, and what a bust in terms of execution. Read full review
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