The Business of Fancydancing
Outrider Pictures | Release Date: October 18, 2002 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
49
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 11 Critic Reviews
Positive:
4
Mixed:
5
Negative:
2

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
Los Angeles TimesKevin Thomas
A fervent assertion that an individual has the right to pursue his own path lies at the vibrant heart of The Business of Fancydancing. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleJonathan Curiel
Offers a quixotic array of characters and flashbacks that tests patience, but once the viewer understand the movie's cadence and rhythm, the story gets better and better until it builds into a crescendo that's emotional, dramatic and -- best of all, perhaps -- fitting. Read full review
67
Seattle Post-IntelligencerSean Axmaker
The anger and betrayal hanging in the wake of shattered relationships and conflicted identities leave an admirable untidiness where most films would force resolution. There are no easy answers here, and it's not for lack of questions. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeJanice Page
Shot in digital video, Fancydancing feels a bit like a racy after-school special. Performances are amateurishly uneven. Read full review
60
VarietyDennis Harvey
Stalled character development in the second half of the pic reduces the impact of the whole. Read full review
60
The New York TimesA.O. Scott
Although the film is initially clumsy and a little hard to follow, Mr. Alexie takes his time in setting his characters in play, and the visual clunkiness becomes secondary to the eloquent emotional desolation. Read full review
50
L.A. WeeklyHazel-Dawn Dumpert
While The Business of Fancydancing is a thoughtful and complex work of sound and vision, it doesn't seem quite right to call it a film, for a couple of reasons. First of all, it is plainly, if crisply, shot on video, with a bright, shiny surface that fairly screams low-rent. Second, the whole business is strangely non-cinematic. Read full review
40
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
All too often, dramatic confrontations feel like barely dramatized debates. Read full review
40
Village VoiceMelissa Anderson
Seymour returns to the Spokane Indian Reservation after a 16-year absence for a friend's funeral. The predictable conflicts ensue, often in histrionic dialogue declaimed through clenched teeth. Read full review
38
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
The movie eventually chokes on its own pretensions. Read full review
38
New York PostMegan Lehmann
A well-intentioned, semi-autobiographical pastiche, is trapped in a straitjacket of political correctness, self-conscious acting and spurts of try-hard dialogue that come off as precious. Read full review
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