Puccini for Beginners
Strand Releasing | Release Date: February 2, 2007 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
54
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 20 Critic Reviews
Positive:
10
Mixed:
8
Negative:
2
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
Film ThreatPete Vonder Haar
Kirk and Mol are convincing, easily inhabiting their respective roles. Read full review
75
New York PostLou Lumenick
Woody Allen certainly hasn't managed anything remotely this funny lately. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
Puccini for Beginners, which takes its title from its heroine's passion for opera, isn't just another trendy toe-dip in sexual experimentation. It may not be the real world of New York, or even of most relationships, but it's worth a visit. Read full review
70
Chicago ReaderAndrea Gronvall
Fresh Manhattan locations prove as photogenic as the leads, and the supporting actors--especially Tina Benko as a glacial, impeccably dressed amazon--don't miss a beat of Maggenti's snappy dialogue. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterDuane Byrge
Brainy and balmy. Read full review
70
The New York TimesStephen Holden
It all looks easy when it's carried off this smoothly. But as any number of stilted duds can attest, applying a Philip Barry or Woody Allen sensibility to 21st-century New Yorkers in their 30s is as delicate a craft as diamond cutting. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
The plot, which spins around Allegra's lovers having just been an item, is awkward bedroom farce, but the tone is Woody Allen-meets-"The L Word," with a patina of literary cuteness that now seems like the sound of a vanished Manhattan. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
In the end, it's all la dolce vita no matter how you look at it. Read full review
63
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
Considering how good "Puccini's" middle often is, it's a shame it falls down fore and aft. But Maggenti, who loves Carole Lombard and William Powell in "My Man Godfrey," is tapping a likable vein here. She should open it up again. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeTy Burr
If Woody Allen were a young, attractive gay woman, he might make something like this, or so Maggenti hopes. But it would probably be funnier, and it would definitely cut deeper. Read full review
60
VarietyDavid Rooney
While it tips its hat to screwball comedy, Puccini for Beginners owes more to contemporary sitcom. It also has way more in common with "Sex and the City" than "The L Word." None of that is entirely a bad thing in a film that never really soars but has enough breezy humor. Read full review
60
Los Angeles TimesKevin Crust
Bisexuality certainly increases the geometric possibilities of the romantic comedy, completing its triangles and allowing for quadrangles and other, more amorphous layers of amorous involvement. Read full review
50
SalonAndrew O'Hehir
Puccini for Beginners may divide individual audience members. It divided me; rarely have I seen a film simultaneously so good and so bad. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubNoel Murray
Maggenti is still trapped behind surfaces, enamored of the IDEA of making a buoyant, urbane romantic comedy, while falling short of anything really resonant or personal. Read full review
50
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
Awkward, unconvincing bisexual roundelay. Read full review
50
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
There's also precious little chemistry between the players. Only Mol has any charm of which to speak, and, frankly, she deserves much better. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
Puccini for Beginners is literate and sensitive, characterized by witty dialogue and smart, emotional two-person encounters. Read full review
50
Seattle Post-IntelligencerSean Axmaker
There's no conviction among these self-involved folks who sidestep commitment with a quip and a grin. Read full review
30
Village VoiceEd Gonzalez
Maggenti suffocates her story with dated references to every buzzword from Laura Mulvey's feminist catalog except for "the male gaze." In short, a nightmare worse than "Trust the Man." Read full review
30
Washington PostDesson Thomson
But when mechanical plots are a drama's main engine, we look for something else to divert us, preferably good comedy. That's in short supply, unfortunately. And it's no fun to sit through the movie's retread Woody Allenisms. Read full review
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