The Closet
Miramax Zoë | Release Date: June 29, 2001 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
72
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 28 Critic Reviews
Positive:
23
Mixed:
4
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
New York PostLou Lumenick
Hilarious French farce.
90
Washington PostRita Kempley
The French originals are always much breezier, the characters more genuine and the actors subtler even if the situations are just as silly. Read full review
20
Mr. ShowbizKevin Maynard
Has a blithe tone and a capable cast, but Veber's script is 100 percent laugh-free.
63
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
Passes the time pleasantly and has a few good laughs. Read full review
80
The New York TimesStephen Holden
Veber's giddy social comedy The Closet finds more delicious, chortling fun in the spectacle of obsequious hypocrisy than any movie I've seen in ages. Read full review
60
Village VoiceDennis Lim
Tumbles happily into every pitfall that lines its well-trodden path. Read full review
80
Chicago ReaderLisa Alspector
Funny? This one is. It's also sweet and thoughtful. Read full review
80
NewsweekDavid Ansen
More sweet than savage, this amiable farce creates laughs with old-pro efficiency.
80
Rolling StonePeter Travers
Auteuil and Depardieu spar hilariously, and writer-director Francis Veber, following "The Dinner Game," offers another delicious treat. Read full review
70
L.A. WeeklyHolly Willis
Auteuil is as charming as ever, with a surprising aptitude for physical humor that keeps the tone cheerfully light and the laughs plentiful. Read full review
60
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
It's amusing more often than it isn't, largely because the cast is so nonchalant and, well, French about everything. Read full review
63
Chicago TribuneJohn Petrakis
By the end we are left with a mildly amusing comedy and the lingering memory of a sterling cast that deserved better material.
60
Los Angeles TimesJohn Anderson
Veber, also responsible for "The Dinner Game," apparently has a finger on the pulse of French audiences and Gallic-minded Americans, but there's just not a lot of freshness in this Closet. Read full review
83
Portland OregonianKim Morgan
It is aided both by fine performances by Auteuil, Aumont and Depardieu and by wonderful pacing. Read full review
90
Washington PostDesson Thomson
Wins you over with its devastating simplicity. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeJay Carr
Perhaps not the most uproarious of Veber's farces, but entertaining and emotionally satisfying all the same.
80
New Times (L.A.)M.V. Moorhead
The director is in fine form with The Closet, an expertly acted divertissement that may well be headed for a Yank incarnation within the next few years. Read full review
75
New York Daily NewsJami Bernard
A farce nearly as cracked as his previous "The Dinner Game." Read full review
91
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
Cagey, high gloss comedy. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleKimberley Jones
It doesn't have the bite to be satire, the pratfalls to be broad comedy, or the wit to pass as a comedy of manners. What does that leave? The French cinematic equivalent of motivational coaching, and -- just like Pignon -- something spectacularly unspectacular. Read full review
100
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
Hilarious, near-flawless. Read full review
75
USA TodayMike Clark
This is economy of style that Americans get only in Woody Allen movies -- and even that's not a guarantee. Read full review
100
San Francisco ChronicleBob Graham
Neither a "gay" movie nor a straight one; it is simply a funny one. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerDesmond Ryan
It's a bright and breezy piece, and a refreshing alternative to the gross-out Hollywood comedies. Read full review
75
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
Auteuil does an excellent job. He's like Marcello Mastroianni, whose naturalness also deluded people into thinking for a while that he wasn't a versatile actor. Read full review
80
VarietyLisa Nesselson
A clever premise that's good for many laughs. Read full review
88
Baltimore SunMichael Sragow
The movie's steady good humor and respect for character is pleasing - even energizing. Read full review
80
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
An expertly developed farce that's very funny and surprisingly affecting in the bargain.
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