Bran Nue Dae
Freestyle Releasing | Release Date: September 10, 2010 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
54
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 22 Critic Reviews
Positive:
10
Mixed:
10
Negative:
2
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
Arizona RepublicRichard Nilsen
An infectiously joyful Australian Aboriginal musical. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
The songs are catchy. The lip-synching, meanwhile, is always a little off, and the dancing is usually average at best. Read full review
40
Boxoffice MagazineSteve Ramos
While well known to many Down-Under fans, Bran Nue Dae has too much comic kitsch for U.S. specialty film audiences. Read full review
30
Chicago ReaderPatrick Friel
As a drama this is rote, as a musical it's uninspired, and as a comedy it's adolescent; ultimately it's a mess, unsure what it wants to be. Read full review
63
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
It isn't a masterpiece, but it is a good-hearted, sweet comedy, featuring an overland chase that isn't original but sure is energetic. Read full review
42
Christian Science MonitorPeter Rainer
As the boarding school honcho Father Benedictus, Geoffrey Rush chews so much scenery that he looks ready to burst. Read full review
50
L.A. WeeklyAaron Hillis
The film is too broad and tacky to engage on a universal level, or at least Stateside: The choreography is sloppy and lifeless; the outmoded blend of vintage rock, country and Broadway styles doesn't click; and the characters are such caricatures that it's no wonder the entire cast is overacting. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesBetsy Sharkey
It's almost impossible not to be swept up by the exuberant fun of this singing, dancing, irony-laced ode to the repression, reeducation and resistance of Australia's indigenous tribal peoples circa 1969. Read full review
50
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
The movie is bouncy and zesty, its energy unflagging, and some of the big numbers are heavily tinged with Bollywood. Conceptually, it should have been a trip. Read full review
75
New York PostLou Lumenick
It may not have songs by ABBA, but Bran Nue Dae is roughly Australia's far less elaborate answer to "Mamma Mia!" -- a cheerful and proudly corny musical that's pretty hard to resist if you're in the right frame of mind. Read full review
75
NPRElla Taylor
Enjoyable and forgettable in equal measure, the lovably cheesy Australian movie Bran Nue Dae is a must for children bitten by the musical-revival fever, for all who heart American Idol, and for anyone who came of age in the late 1960s - and is willing to hear the beloved pop standards of their youth massacred for a new age. Read full review
75
Orlando SentinelRoger Moore
It's a little racy for our "High School Musical" set. But Bran Nue Dae (say it out loud) will play anywhere fans like a musical so cute you want to pinch its cheeks. Read full review
63
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
Great? No. But Bran Nue Dae is great good fun. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleG. Allen Johnson
A very slightly plotted, over-the-top film with hammy acting suitable for an old "Benny Hill" episode. If that sounds like fun, go see it, mate. Read full review
75
Tampa Bay TimesSteve Persall
Bran Nue Dae is a strange change from the usual multiplex fare, and that's nearly enough to make it wonderful. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubNoel Murray
The movie builds goodwill doggedly, and then pays it all off with a farcical finale with a rousing message: We're all Aborigines! Who knew? Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Jennie Punter
The movie feels trapped in the 1980s and feels like a missed opportunity. Read full review
40
The Hollywood ReporterMegan Lehmann
Bran Nue Dae has so much feel-good fizz that you can almost overlook its rickety construction. But not quite. Read full review
50
The New York TimesStephen Holden
The bits of Aboriginal lore imparted along the way by Tadpole add flavoring to a sugar-coated romp that has the craft of a high school revue. Read full review
60
Time OutDavid Fear
The movie will make you tap your toes; don't expect much for your head or your heartstrings. Read full review
50
VarietyDennis Harvey
Offering blandly stereotypical characters in a trite road-trip narrative, it's genial but too silly for most grownups, and likely to impress few "High School Musical"-indoctrinated kids. Read full review
38
Washington PostMichael O'Sullivan
So light and airy, it almost floats away on its own breeziness. Read full review
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