Irma la Douce
United Artists | Release Date: June 5, 1963 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
63
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 11 Critic Reviews
Positive:
6
Mixed:
5
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
A lavish and sometimes lusty version of the French hit musical, minus the songs but with lots of Shirley MacLaine and Jack Lemmon. [17 Jan 2000, p.Q]
80
The New York TimesBosley Crowther
Mr. Lemmon is little short of brilliant — vigorous, incisive and deft. Read full review
75
SlashfilmMike Shutt
On a scene-by-scene basis, this picture has so much to offer in terms of some fairly unhinged and wild work from a bunch of artists at the height of their powers. Read full review
75
Charlotte ObserverTerry Lawson
A fairly ordinary (for Wilder) adaptation of a play with a great performance by Lemmon as a French cop who falls for hooker Shirley MacLaine. [18 Jul 2003, p.11E]
67
The PlaylistOliver Lyttelton
Far from the home-run laughs of “The Apartment” and “Some Like it Hot,” Irma La Douce is still a fun if G-rated tour of the seedy Parisian underbelly, but coming in overlong at close to 2 1/2 hours, would have benefited from some tighter editing. Read full review
63
Slant MagazineCarson Lund
If not exactly an endearing experience on the whole, Irma la Douce is a fine example of Billy Wilder’s mid-career eccentricity and cosmopolitan curiosity. Read full review
60
EmpireDavid Parkinson
Lemmon and Maclaine fail to reproduce the chemistry from The Apartment but this slight film is not as ignorable as reputation suggests. Read full review
60
Time OutStaff (Not Credited)
Wilder's soft-centred cynicism provides frequent enough laughs without too many longueurs. Read full review
60
TV Guide MagazineStaff (Not Credited)
Far too long for a lighthearted farce, with dull patches that outnumber the high spots, the film is really about Maclaine and Lemmon striving to rise above the fat Diamond-Wilder script and Wilder's lethargic direction. Read full review
50
VarietyStaff (Not Credited)
Two hours and 23 minutes is an awfully long haul for a frivolous farce. Read full review
40
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
Billy Wilder’s soggy and uninspired 1963 adaptation of the hit Broadway musical, minus the songs. Read full review
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