CQ
United Artists | Release Date: May 24, 2002 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
56
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 26 Critic Reviews
Positive:
13
Mixed:
10
Negative:
3
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
San Francisco ChronicleJonathan Curiel
The film deserves some kind of honor for its campy originality, smart and funny dialogue, and provocative yet sensitive look at the making of a film circa 1969. Read full review
80
The New York TimesA.O. Scott
May not make the splash it should; films about moviemaking rarely do. And that would be a shame, because the contrasts the director sets in motion and keeps playing against each other make an entertaining wrestling match. Read full review
80
New Times (L.A.)Gregory Weinkauf
It's a feel-good movie for people tired of paying to feel bad. Bring it on. Read full review
80
SalonStephanie Zacharek
A frothy, sexy, '60s delight with a movie lover's heart. Read full review
80
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
Exceptionally likable and affecting as well as entertaining.
78
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
It may not be art, but it's vastly more entertaining than anything Coppola senior has done in far too long. Read full review
75
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
Good-natured and fun, the Austin Powers silliness of the era shines through, and Coppola family art director Dean Tavoularis ("Apocalypse Now," "The Godfather" trilogy) makes the film -- and its kitschy film-within-the-film -- look consistently terrific. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
CQ is a movie for movie-lovers, by a movie-lover: Roman Coppola, son of Francis Ford and a successful commercial and video director in his own right, making a witty, whimsical feature debut. Read full review
70
Film ThreatChris Gore
While I personally love this movie, I’m not sure how well received a film about a frustrated filmmaker seeking creative solutions in his personal life and work life is going to be to the average moviegoer. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
Coppola, who has made clever music videos, including the one for Moby's ''Honey,'' clearly had a lot of fun detailing the mod cheesiness of this intergalactic period piece, though the satire would have been more ticklish if ''Austin Powers'' hadn't gotten there first. Read full review
63
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
May have more enthusiasm and attitude than good story sense, but it, too, is the work of someone who might be at this game for a long time.
63
New York PostMegan Lehmann
Coppola sure knows his late-'60s cinema and he's meticulous in reconstructing the style of the era. Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
CQ has a modicum of IQ and a dash of style -- the jury's still out on the extent of the inheritance, but the kid clearly learned something at his pater'sknee. Read full review
60
The A.V. ClubKeith Phipps
It looks great -- thanks in large part to production designer Dean Tavoularis and Wes Anderson cinematographer Robert Yeoman -- but just as importantly, it looks like it's interesting. Ultimately, it's not, but that almost doesn't matter. Read full review
60
L.A. WeeklyJohn Powers
CQ is modest, especially for something bearing the grandiose family name, and it possesses both a tenderness and a quiet intelligence. Read full review
60
New York Magazine (Vulture)Peter Rainer
Not everything in this ambitious comic escapade works, but Coppola, along with his sister, Sofia, is a real filmmaker. It must be in the genes. Read full review
60
Washington PostHank Stuever
A certain sexiness underlines even the dullest tangents, bouncing along to the all-too-essential groovy soundtrack. Read full review
60
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
A triumph of art direction over narrative, but what art direction! Read full review
50
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
Coppola's satirical debut movie is too ambitious for its own good. The cast is good, though, and ambition isn't the worst fault a fledgling filmmaker can have. Read full review
50
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
Pretentious and self-indulgent -- those two words come to mind when considering CQ. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeChris Fujiwara
Triumphs over its own trendiness only by being vapid and superficial. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesJan Stuart
The result is stylish but awfully slim. Read full review
40
Washington PostDesson Thomson
A charming, spirited movie for cinephiles, or those who aspire to be. It's the kind of movie every kid in film school wanted to make but didn't have the father to produce. Read full review
30
Village VoiceDennis Lim
Endearing but pointless, at once cluttered and tinny, this film-dork fantasia suggests a shopping spree at a high-end vintage emporium underwritten by Daddy's blank check. Read full review
20
Rolling StonePeter Travers
Writer-director Roman Coppola is trying to capture a time he's too young to remember, when the French New Wave reinvigorated film art. Read full review
20
VarietyTodd McCarthy
Roman Coppola's first film has sympathetic aims but is distressingly lacking in flair, style, wit or fun. Read full review
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