Just a Kiss
Paramount Classics | Release Date: September 27, 2002 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
39
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 21 Critic Reviews
Positive:
3
Mixed:
7
Negative:
11
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
Chicago TribuneRobert K. Elder
Marisa Tomei turns in a blitzkrieg performance. Read full review
70
VarietyKen Eisner
The helming debut of thesp Fisher Stevens, who mixes swell ensemble acting with eye-popping animation for a witch's brew of good sex, bad timing and very funny dialogue. Read full review
67
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
First-time director Fisher Stevens has a flair for dialogue comedy, the film operates nicely off the element of surprise, and the large cast is solid -- especially Marisa Tomei, who in an extended cameo as a merry dominatrix rarely has been more convincing. Read full review
60
The New York TimesStephen Holden
What elevates the movie above the run-of-the-mill singles blender is its surreal sense of humor and technological finish. Read full review
60
The A.V. ClubScott Tobias
The film's moralistic streak leaves a sour taste, especially because its battle of the sexes is so wildly off-balance. Read full review
60
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
This small-scale film isn't for all tastes. But veterans of the dating wars will smirk uneasily at the film's nightmare versions of everyday sex-in-the-city misadventures. Read full review
50
New York PostMegan Lehmann
Stevens has a keen sense of the absurd, but the whole thing is too forced - and his use of "rotomation" (last used in Richard Linklater's "Waking Life") to give a Timothy Leary-swirl to key dramatic moments winds up looking incongruous. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
Though the cast ends up looking good, the film's unwillingness or inability to have things add up hurts everyone's efforts. Read full review
42
Portland OregonianKim Morgan
Its cool, glib observations, delivered by good-looking creative people who live like the cast of "Friends" gone cynical, becomes forced and often stupid. The film goes off the track enough to make for an interesting train wreck.
40
L.A. WeeklyChuck Wilson
A twisted black comedy -- The accomplished ensemble meshes nicely, but the actors all look pale and exhausted, an effect that may be a byproduct of the film’s photography, which is terrible. Read full review
38
Boston GlobeTy Burr
It's coherent, well shot, and tartly acted, but it wears you down like a dinner guest showing off his doctorate. Read full review
38
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
Stevens, an actor taking charge from the other side of the camera, and writer and co-star Breen are going for a romantic black farce, a darkly noble idea, but one that requires far more empathetic characters and funnier situations than they've created. Read full review
38
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
The result is a small independent film suffering from a severe case of Hollywood-itis. A cautionary tale minus the caution, Just a Kiss is just a cop-out. Read full review
38
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
What a mess. Read full review
30
Washington PostStaff (Not credited)
Clumsily written and numbly performed comedy of yammers. Read full review
30
Chicago ReaderReece Pendleton
Muddled attempt at edgy comedy. Read full review
30
New Times (L.A.)Luke Y. Thompson
Not just another disposable romantic comedy, but an ambitious, overreaching mess.
25
San Francisco ChronicleCarla Meyer
Gets everything wrong, starting with a title that indicates a somewhat innocent romantic transgression. Read full review
25
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
The movie seems to reinvent itself from moment to moment, darting between styles like a squirrel with too many nuts. There is one performance that works, sort of, and it is by Marisa Tomei, Read full review
25
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
The best thing you can say about Just a Kiss is that it isn't every romantic comedy that throws in suicide, bondage and a plane crash in between all the bed hopping. Read full review
10
Village VoiceLaura Sinagra
A convoluted writing exercise gone horribly wrong. Read full review
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