The Magic Christian
Commonwealth United Entertainment | Release Date: February 11, 1970 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
42
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 7 Critic Reviews
Positive:
2
Mixed:
4
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
TV Guide MagazineStaff (Not Credited)
A brazen, irreverent, and wild satire that hits more often than it misses, THE MAGIC CHRISTIAN seeks to prove that people will do anything, absolutely anything, for money--if there's enough of it. Read full review
70
The New York TimesRoger Greenspun
A superb realization of the book. Read full review
50
VarietyStaff (Not Credited)
A spotty, uneven satire (from the novel by Terry Southern) with a number of good yocks, but insufficient sustained wit or related action. Read full review
50
The New YorkerPauline Kael
There are funny moments, but they don't add up to enough.
40
Time OutStaff (Not Credited)
The Magic Christian is all too clearly representative of the impasse independent mainstream film-making found itself in when given its head by the industry in the '60s. The result is a variety concert of a film in which most of the acts/jokes fall flat. Read full review
40
Village VoiceMolly Haskell
For Southern to be funny at all, jokes must be carried too far and decorum exploded at every turn. Even if McGrath were inclined to handle the material this way, mush of it has dated, and the screenplay by Southern, McGrath, and Peter Sellers does not so much update it as displace it. [26 Feb 1970, p.60]
30
Chicago ReaderDave Kehr
A curdled, unfunny satire made more painful by McGrath’s inappropriately jubilant style. Read full review
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