Bride & Prejudice
Miramax Films | Release Date: February 11, 2005 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
55
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 34 Critic Reviews
Positive:
19
Mixed:
12
Negative:
3
Watch Now
Stream On
Buy on
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Expand

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
91
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
Under the direction of "Bend It Like Beckham's" Gurinder Chadha, this festively busy and exuberantly multicultural charmer is its own intriguingly postmodern creation. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
Bright, colorful, and exhilarating. Read full review
75
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
Good, clean fun, and the view is fabulous. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
This plot, recycled from Austen, is the clothesline for a series of dance numbers that, like Hong Kong action sequences, are set in unlikely locations and use props found there; how else to explain the sequence set in, yes, a Mexican restaurant? Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Leah McLaren
It's the small, smelly details that elevate this Indian-fusion retelling of Jane Austen's classic novel from trifle to bona-fide delight. Read full review
75
Rolling StonePeter Travers
Lightweight but utterly beguiling. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
It's "knowingly" off-the-rails--and if you're in a tolerant or adventurous mood, very entertaining. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
Aside from the singing and dancing, it is the color and pageantry of India as filtered through the work of cinematographer Santosh Sivan that captivates us. Read full review
70
Washington PostDesson Thomson
Works because of its heedless, heart-on-its-sleeve spirit. Read full review
70
Washington PostTeresa Wiltz
A big, sprawling, sweet-natured mishmash with plots upon subplots and enough characters to make the head spin. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterRay Bennett
Like an Elvis Presley musical from the '60s, filled with shiny bright colors, bouncy music and happy, smiling, pretty people. Read full review
70
VarietyDerek Elley
Austen nuts may rend their frocks, and Bollywood buffs may split their cholis, but there's an immensely likable, almost goofily playful charm to Bride & Prejudice that finally wins the day. Read full review
67
Seattle Post-IntelligencerPaula Nechak
Here's yet another take on "Pride and Prejudice,"...but all spiced up as colorfully as a dish of curry. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleMarrit Ingman
It's got practically everything you could stuff in front of a camera, with the possible exception of Rip Taylor throwing confetti. Dancing transvestites? Check. Elephants? Check. Read full review
63
USA TodayClaudia Puig
A Hollywood take on a Bollywood movie. But the Bollywood portions - echoing over-the-top Indian movie musicals - are far more entertaining than the Hollywood segments. Read full review
63
New York PostLou Lumenick
You could do worse for a date movie than Gurinder Chadha's campy, exuberant cross-cultural take on Austen's much-filmed 1812 novel. Read full review
63
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
Bride has atmosphere and charm, but the exotic flavors have often been toned down to avoid complaints. Read full review
63
Miami HeraldConnie Ogle
The mere idea of making a musical version of Pride and Prejudice set in modern-day India is delicious, though, and Chadha's lively imagination and good intentions almost make the concept work. Read full review
63
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
The film is uniquely spirited, radiating the exuberance and sexual heat of an Elvis musical, a characteristic shared by its songs and dances. Read full review
50
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
Gloriously seductive musical sequences seem suddenly hokey and self-conscious when they're staged in Western settings, and the songs' English-language lyrics are painfully banal. Read full review
50
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
The characters quickly succumb to stereotype. Read full review
50
PremiereGlenn Kenny
It’s very colorful, for sure, but the dialogue is lead-footed at best. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
In attempting to show us a love blind to class, culture, and color, she's (Chadha) also made it bland. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleCarla Meyer
Lacks even mild drama. Read full review
50
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
A painlessly light introduction to Bollywood moviemaking, but it far too often feels like run-of-the-mill Hollywood fare. Read full review
50
NewsweekDavid Ansen
This clumsy attempt to merge Jane Austen's classic with Bollywood musical conventions falls painfully flat. Read full review
50
TimeRichard Corliss
Heart and art can make a beguiling pair. Those are mostly missing in this strained hybrid, which is less Bollywood than Follywood. Read full review
50
Village VoiceJessica Winter
Money can't buy happiness, but as Bride and Prejudice teaches us, it can get patience in bulk from a smart young woman of a practical mind-set. Read full review
50
Dallas ObserverLuke Y. Thompson
Unfortunately, it's also pretty banal -- translating the songs into English reveals just how dull their lyrics and sentiments really are. The colors are pretty though. Read full review
50
L.A. WeeklyElla Taylor
It is a truth universally acknowledged that had Jane Austen lived to see the profits that have been squeezed from her most marketable premise, she'd doubtless have wept, then lobbied for her share of the royalties. Read full review
40
EmpireAnna Smith
It has charm, comedy and a populist concept, but is structurally weak and too self-consciously multicultural. Read full review
30
The A.V. ClubScott Tobias
Chadha doesn't seem at home with either Austen or Bollywood, and her ambitions far exceed her competence in the song-and-dance numbers, which are a clutter of stiff choreography and silly original lyrics. Read full review
25
Baltimore SunMichael Sragow
The comedy of manners becomes strictly a comedy of bad manners. Read full review
10
The New York TimesManohla Dargis
As high concept and rife with cliché as anything ever churned out by Hollywood, but with worse production values and a load of sanctimonious political correctness. Read full review
More From This Movie

55 Critic Reviews

5.7 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