Don Juan DeMarco
New Line Cinema | Release Date: April 7, 1995 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
63
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 19 Critic Reviews
Positive:
12
Mixed:
6
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
91
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
There's no great romantic climax to Don Juan DeMarco (and that may be a drawback for Depp lovers looking to swoon), but there is an airy delicacy to this tall tale that fits in perfectly with the weather these days, the hormones, the whole seasonal gestalt. Read full review
80
EmpireMark Salisbury
Depp plays on both his looks and quirky charm to make the title character a joy to watch, while Brando thoroughly enjoys himself as the suddenly amorous physician. Utterly charming. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
Writer/director Jeremy Leven takes pleasure in clouding the division between what's real and what isn't, but he never stretches matters to such an extreme that Don Juan DeMarco is reduced to a mindless farce. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
The picture... is simple, sweet and elegantly written, and it benefits from the presence of Marlon Brando. Read full review
75
Rolling StonePeter Travers
What jump-starts the film is the casting of Johnny Depp as Don Juan and Marlon Brando as his shrink. They bring a playfully romantic touch to a drama that could have been dead weight in clumsier hands. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
As a captivating bauble, a tribute to a romantic legend, Don Juan DeMarco shines. But as an exercise in performing artistry, a gift from a living legend and an heir apparent, it positively glitters. Read full review
70
The New York TimesJanet Maslin
It benefits not only from Mr. Brando's peculiar presence, but also from Johnny Depp, who again proves himself a brilliantly intuitive young actor with strong ties to the Brando legacy. The movie is cheesy, but its stars certainly are not. Read full review
70
Washington PostDesson Thomson
The movie, written and directed by Jeremy Leven, may not be one for the ages, but it's a pleasant, involving experience that intermixes fairy-tale romance with modern, deadpan comedy. Read full review
70
Washington PostHal Hinson
[Leven] keeps the film's tone light and ingratiating. And, though the material is thin, the actors do seem to be getting a kick out of playing off each other. Read full review
70
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
This first feature by novelist and psychologist Jeremy Leven has a fairly rudimentary mise en scene, but the actors take over the proceedings with aplomb, and Brando and Dunaway have the grace to turn much of the show over to Depp, who carries the burden with ease. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleSteve Davis
Although flawed in many respects -- it's not as smooth and silky a movie as it could have been -- Don Juan DeMarco nevertheless evokes a romantic mood that tickles and caresses. Read full review
63
TV Guide MagazineStaff(Not Credited)
Depp's considerable personal charm is the movie's greatest asset. The story is painfully insubstantial, and Dunaway is sadly wasted in the shallow, predictable role of a woman whose barren life blossoms under her husband's renewed attention. Read full review
60
NewsweekJeff Giles
Depp attacks his role with relish, stamping his boot heels and recounting improbable erotic adventures in a wonderful Castilian lisp. Unfortunately, Depp's the only one flying over this cuckoo's nest. [24 Apr 1995, p.64]
60
The New YorkerAnthony Lane
The writer and director, Jeremy Leven -- himself a former shrink -- has taken a heavy conceit and lightened it into comedy, which is what it deserves. Read full review
50
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
Brando doesn't so much walk through this movie as coast, in a gassy, self-indulgent performance no one else could have gotten away with. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesPeter Rainer
Depp is rather sweet in portraying Don Juan's self-delusions, but his performance is hampered by the role. Read full review
50
USA TodayMike Clark
The flashbacks, functional at best, aren't really the problem. Interminable one-on-one dialogues between the two male leads are. [7 Apr 1995, p.03.D]
50
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
The picture has more charm than credibility, and its conquistador-like attitude toward women is mighty questionable; but the story becomes resonant if you see it as a fable about Brando vicariously regaining his youth by teaming with Depp in this all-stops-out movie fantasy. Read full review
25
San Francisco ExaminerBarbara Shulgasser
Most of the movie seems stilted and uncomfortably girdled by efforts to work around the cumbersome Brando, who is shot mostly from above the waist, where the full effects of gravity and avoirdupois do not seem so egregious as they do at belt level. Read full review
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