Manny & Lo

Sony Pictures Classics | Release Date: July 26, 1996

CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION

67	METASCORE Generally favorable reviews based on 19 Critic Reviews

Positive:

Mixed:

Negative:

Critic Reviews

Critic score Publication By date

Marjorie Baumgarten

An understated movie that, in turns, is funny and heart-breaking and uplifting, Manny & Lo is a work that burrows under your skin and makes you impatient for the next project from first-time feature filmmaker Lisa Krueger. Read full review

Jonathan Rosenbaum

A rather tedious kidnapping movie by writer-director Lisa Krueger, despite the novelty of the kidnappers (Scarlett Johansson and Aleksa Palladino) being sisters, one of whom is pregnant, and the kidnapped person being a nurse (Mary Kay Place) needed to assist with the childbirth. Read full review

Roger Ebert

What I like about movies like this is the way they keep us involved until the end. There is no formula that we can project; “Thelma & Louise” was clearly heading for an act of self-destruction, but here we have no idea what to expect, except (inevitably) the birth of a child. Read full review

James Berardinelli

With its carefully-modulated combination of light comedy and drama, the film casts a gentle spell. Read full review

Mick LaSalle

With her first feature, "Manny & Lo," writer-director Lisa Krueger reveals a distinctive style. Though employing no surreal devices and remaining within a realistic convention, Krueger takes the story of two young sisters on their own and somehow makes it seem unreal, strange, outside time. Read full review

Barbara Shulgasser

MANNY & LO grows on you, largely because of the charm of its youngest cast member, Scarlett Johansson, who plays 11-years-old Amanda. Read full review

Janet Maslin

It's the kind of story that leaves viewers with a warm glow. Read full review

Emanuel Levy

Despite the imaginative setup and the original sensibility, pic ultimately suffers from a slight, rather contrived narrative and a lack of secondary characters. Read full review

Jay Carr

Lisa Krueger's "Manny & Lo" is the most original and unexpected family-values film of the year. [09 Aug 1996, p.C8]

Michael Wilmington

Following in the footsteps of "Thelma & Louise" and all the other fugitive comedy-drama-romances, "Manny & Lo" can't quite convince us it really belongs. Paradoxically, it's because much of the movie rings so true, that some crucial parts of the story ring so false. [30 Aug 1996, p.J]

David Baron

Manny & Lo surely benefits from the emotionally naked performances of all three leading ladies, yet it's Krueger's quirky, psychologically driven humor and ability to fashion motives fraught with irony and ambiguity that make her female buddy flick so fresh.[20 Sep 1996, p.L29]

Steven Rea

Manny & Lo, wonderfully photographed (by Krueger's brother, Tom) and full of telling detail, is a wry, intelligent picture with a sweet, but hardly saccharine, story to tell. [06 Sep 1996, p.03]

John Hartl

Manny & Lo is often on the verge of becoming too cute for comfort, and writer-director Lisa Krueger doesn't always succeed in avoiding those pitfalls. She's also better at establishing relationships and working with actors than she is at generating narrative momentum. [30 Aug 1996]

Geoff Andrew

This sweet if somewhat implausible first feature is a gentle, occasionally dark comedy-cum-coming-of-age drama, held together by strong interplay between the conflicting leads (Place is particularly good) and by a wry, pleasingly understated sense of humour. Read full review

Gene Siskel

Writer-director Lisa Krueger displays some talent in creating the Mary Kay Place character; I expect more daring work from her next time. [30 Aug 1996, p.2]

Staff (Not Credited)

Manny & Lo is a gals-on-the-run film that aims to be Thelma & Louise for the My So-Called Life set. Instead it's as engaging as a public service announcement. [23 Aug 1996, p.8G]

Karen Schoemer

In her starched nurse's uniform, shuffling around with a bicycle chain for leg irons, Place would steal the movie if the youngsters weren't so impossibly perfect. [05 Aug 1996, p.73]

Tim Appelo

Like a lot of movies associated with Robert Redford's Sundance Institute, ``Manny & Lo'' is long on atmosphere, rich in character and not very goal-oriented. But Manny, Lo and Elaine are fully human female characters one is glad to have met. How many movies offer us anything of the sort? [13 Sep 1996, p.21]

Deborah Peterson

Manny and Lo is a significant achievement for Krueger, who has shown herself on this first outing to be a smart, sure and strong director. [23 Aug 1996, p.6E]