The Château
IFC Films | Release Date: August 9, 2002 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
54
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 17 Critic Reviews
Positive:
9
Mixed:
5
Negative:
3

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
83
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
If anyone steals the movie, though, it's Sylvie Testud, who never lets on whether the sexy French country maid she's playing is mournfully obtuse or embodies the wisdom of the ages. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
A culture-clash comedy that, in addition to being very funny, captures some of the discomfort and embarrassment of being a bumbling American in Europe. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
A goofy combination of screwball farce and Dogma-style verite grit and gloom. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
No one here is prodding you to laugh. It just happens. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesKevin Thomas
Delightfully bittersweet culture-clash comedy. If what's funny is frequently hilarious, then what's nasty truly stings, and the film is honest enough not to tie up everything with a ribbon. Read full review
70
L.A. WeeklyChuck Wilson
With the supremely gifted Rudd as his point man, Peretz is often ruthless in depicting Americans abroad as deluded cretins; by film’s end, however, he finds their optimism useful for re-firing the defeated hearts of his characters, even the hope-leery French ones. Read full review
70
Film ThreatMerle Bertrand
Unlikely but winning farce. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleSarah Hepola
An admirable little film, a funny and familiar depiction of Americans traveling abroad, strangers to each other and themselves. Read full review
63
New York Daily NewsJami Bernard
Rudd delivers the best bad Franglais since Inspector Clouseau. Read full review
60
The New York TimesDave Kehr
Here is one performer (Testud) whose features -- small sad eyes, sharp nose, wide rueful smile -- can sustain a feature by themselves. Read full review
60
VarietyDavid Rooney
Modest but engaging. Read full review
58
Seattle Post-IntelligencerSean Axmaker
Barely substantial enough for a feature but just light and tasty enough to satisfy. Read full review
50
New Times (L.A.)Andy Klein
An occasionally funny, but overall limp, fish-out-of-water story. Read full review
50
Village VoiceJessica Winter
The raw art of the malapropism has rarely been so extensively honored, but the increasingly strident, slapstick-smacked movie runs out of steam once the culture shock wears off. Read full review
30
The A.V. ClubKeith Phipps
Never recovering the energy of its early scenes, the heavily improvised Château becomes shapeless and dull. Read full review
25
Chicago TribuneRobert K. Elder
Limps along on a squirm-inducing fish-out-of-water formula that goes nowhere and goes there very, very slowly. Read full review
20
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
Director Jesse Peretz, onetime bassist for The Lemonheads, cut his teeth on music videos and appears to have embraced the austere aesthetics of Dogme 95 filmmakers without comprehending that an interesting story and well-developed characters are supposed to be part of the package. Read full review
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