Showtime
Warner Bros. Pictures | Release Date: March 15, 2002 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
32
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 34 Critic Reviews
Positive:
6
Mixed:
10
Negative:
18
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
50
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
Its breeziness keeps it from ever being completely bland or flat. Read full review
25
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
A disgrace to the talents of Robert De Niro and Eddie Murphy, but it's not enough just to say that. It's also a disgrace to the talents of Rene Russo and whoever drove the coffee truck to the set every day. Read full review
30
The A.V. ClubScott Tobias
De Niro and Murphy are visibly uncomfortable with each other. Their improvisation seems chaotic and mismanaged, and the movie follows in kind. Read full review
30
SalonCharles Taylor
Isn't particularly assaultive, but it can still make you feel that you never want to see another car chase, explosion or gunfight again. Read full review
50
New York PostJonathan Foreman
It's a wretchedly dumb, lazy and incoherent movie that's magically rendered watchable by Eddie Murphy's charm and Robert De Niro's presence. Read full review
50
USA TodayMike Clark
De Niro's scowl and Murphy's sass are inherently funny, though in this case both actors are forced to call in moviegoers' long-established goodwill. Read full review
30
TV Guide MagazineFrank Lovece
This one makes De Niro's recent film "15 Minutes" look like "Network." Even worse, aside from a few scenes with Shatner, it just isn't funny. Read full review
60
Film ThreatMichael Dequina
Chalk up another big-name star vehicle that fails to live up to a wealth of potential. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesKevin Thomas
From frame one Showtime displays an ingenuity, cleverness and briskness that never flags. Read full review
50
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
The moment Showtime begins to take itself even remotely seriously, it loses whatever edge it might have had -- and that occurs less than 15 minutes into the proceedings. The best time for Showtime is no time. Read full review
25
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
De Niro seems to be reacting to nothing so much as the lame movie he's stuck in. Read full review
20
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
There's so little urgency to the plot that one eventually feels not even the actors and filmmakers believe for a second in what's going on. Read full review
63
Baltimore SunChris Kaltenbach
Humorous but much too predictable send-up of reality TV and the sheer banality of it all.
25
Chicago TribuneMark Caro
A criminal waste of talent. Read full review
10
SlateDavid Edelstein
A buddy cop movie that pretends to spoof buddy cop movies along with reality TV shows, Showtime is so lazy and artless that … that … it saps my will to come up with a good quip: Witless in itself, it is the source of witlessness in others. Read full review
10
Village VoiceJessica Winter
Should come with a disclaimer. Read full review
50
Washington PostDesson Thomson
So pleased with its own spoofy conceit it stays in annoyingly self-amused, predictable mode. Read full review
25
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
Muddled screenwriting and uninspired directing. Read full review
50
New York Daily NewsJami Bernard
A lame buddy-cop movie that squanders stars De Niro and Eddie Murphy as it races from one cliche to the next, blithely unconcerned with whether anything parses.
30
VarietyTodd McCarthy
A shrill, strained and shallow riff on a tired idea. Read full review
25
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
It is, from beginning to end, a paint-by-numbers movie. There's a mildly entertaining climax, but most of Showtime is a layering of tired pop-culture tropes by actors who are not especially interested in what they're doing. Read full review
50
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
By refusing to take anything seriously (including himself), Shatner lifts the movie to a truly funny level of absurdity. Soon, though, it goes back to being the type of buddy picture Hollywood stamps out like stale cookies. Read full review
38
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
No matter how much good will the actors generate, Showtime eventually folds under its own thinness. Read full review
20
Rolling StonePeter Travers
Add Showtime to the pile of Hollywood dreck that represents nothing more than the art of the deal. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeTom Russo
Would seem to be surefire casting. The catch is that they're stuck with a script that prevents them from firing on all cylinders. Read full review
30
New York Magazine (Vulture)Peter Rainer
Eddie Murphy and Robert De Niro have made any number of lame movies on their own, but there's a special wastefulness connected to their first co-starring vehicle, Showtime: It's lameness times two, and then some. Read full review
50
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
The movie's funny in the opening scenes and then forgets why it came to play. Read full review
38
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
A flat-out cynical attempt to launch a new Lethal Weapon-like franchise. Read full review
75
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
It's getting hard not to think of De Niro as anything but a dead-pan comedian. Read full review
40
L.A. WeeklyManohla Dargis
Showtime is better than the fourth "Lethal Weapon," which was pretty bad, but not as good as the original "Lethal Weapon" or the superior "48HRS." Read full review
30
The New York TimesDana Stevens
Plays every convention twice, once as parody and once by the book, but the movie, trying to be two things at once, fails at both. Read full review
70
New Times (L.A.)Andy Klein
It's hard not to warm to a film that features William Shatner (playing himself) looking at De Niro's character and complaining about what a lousy actor he is. Read full review
70
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
What the movie lacks in coherence it makes up for in zest, well-founded self-delight and a sharpshooter's eye for the absurdities of reality TV.
20
Austin ChronicleKimberley Jones
The collective charisma of Robert De Niro, Eddie Murphy, and Rene Russo is the only reason to slap down eight bucks for this limp action/comedy, but then, it's difficult not to want to avert your eyes out of embarrassment for the trio. Read full review
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