The Truth About Charlie
Universal Pictures | Release Date: October 25, 2002 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
55
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 35 Critic Reviews
Positive:
16
Mixed:
17
Negative:
2
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
Baltimore SunMichael Sragow
A sophisticated thrill. And incandescent Thandie Newton is a worthy successor to Audrey Hepburn in 'Charade.' Read full review
80
VarietyTodd McCarthy
Dazzlingly nimble and light on its feet, this breezy but densely textured love letter to modern, multicultural Paris in the guise of a romantic suspenser returns its director to the vibrant vein of his pre-Oscar work in "Something Wild" and "Married to the Mob." Read full review
80
Dallas ObserverRobert Wilonsky
Charlie doesn't have a point, doesn't give a damn about giving a damn. It is what it is: a beautiful goof, a drunken supermodel in search of one more party before the sun comes up. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
The plot is essentially a backdrop, as it was in "Charade," for Paris, suspense, romance and star power -- If it is true that there will never be another Audrey Hepburn, and it is, I submit it is also true that there will never be another Thandie Newton. Read full review
75
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
Chalk this razzle-dazzle chase picture up as effective Friday-night entertainment, not the heart-stirring romantic thriller it might have been. That's the real truth about "Charlie." Read full review
75
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
The closer you get to sorting out the truth, the less likely you are to believe it, let alone comprehend it. The latter half of this movie is as outlandish as a Mexican soap opera. Read full review
70
The A.V. ClubKeith Phipps
Though indisputably a thriller, Charlie abandons itself to little cinematic rhapsodies, self-reflexive asides, and montages of Paris locations cued to a soundtrack of cool French pop, all of which often seems more vital than the main order of business. Read full review
70
NewsweekDavid Ansen
It’s a movie for movie lovers -- playful, hip and light as a feather.
70
The New YorkerAnthony Lane
Viewers will be split between those who wonder about this silly, trumped-up story and those who already know and love the silliness for what it was. [4 November 2002, p. 110]
67
Austin ChronicleKimberley Jones
As an experiment in mood, as a love song to Paris and to the French New Wave, as a fun, flirty little number, Charlie provides a giddy satisfaction.
67
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
Comes across as a fairly weak retooling. Read full review
63
New York PostLou Lumenick
Does briefly sizzle in the scenes between Newton and French actress Christine Boisson, as the bisexual French police commander assigned to the case. Read full review
63
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
Think of The Truth About Charlie as a Parisian getaway that happens to have a movie percolating in the background. Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam Lacey
With a multiracial cast, an international spy-caper flick with "Mission Impossible" and John Woo overtones, and a series of comic turns, fantasy sequences and sly humour, it should be a fresh delight. Unfortunately, it's not. Read full review
63
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
It's not a great film but it's pure pleasure. Read full review
63
Chicago TribuneMark Caro
Demme gets a lot of flavor and spice into his "Charade" remake, but he can't disguise that he's spiffing up leftovers that aren't so substantial or fresh. Read full review
60
The New York TimesA.O. Scott
You may be taken by the director's enormous enthusiasm, but the picture doesn't quite work. Read full review
60
SlateDavid Edelstein
I wish it were as much fun as its prospectus. The truth is that The Truth About Charlie gets increasingly tiresome. Read full review
60
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
If Wahlberg in a beret is your idea of fun, don't let me get in your way. Read full review
60
SalonAndrew O'Hehir
As utterly disastrous movies go, this one's really got something. Read full review
50
Washington PostDesson Thomson
Newton may not be a great actor, either, but she's full of life and charm. She's the only thing holding this movie together at all. Read full review
50
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
The trouble with The Truth About Charlie is that it really is after the truth about Charlie, a character we could hardly give a damn about. The only charade is the illusion that we might actually be entertained. Read full review
50
New York Magazine (Vulture)Peter Rainer
Another charmless Hollywood thriller. Read full review
50
New York Daily NewsJami Bernard
The meltingly beautiful Newton gives a solid performance, but she and Wahlberg do not glide like Astaire and Rogers, to put it delicately. Read full review
50
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
So the awful truth about The Truth About Charlie is that it needed two movie stars and got one.
50
San Francisco ChronicleJonathan Curiel
A sometimes interesting remake that doesn't compare to the brilliant original. Read full review
50
Rolling StonePeter Travers
Demme can't sustain the fizz, but seeing a real filmmaker try and fall short is still more fun than watching a hack hit the mark. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
Neither the script nor the direction nor the acting has been able to make these characters into ones we want to invest ourselves in. The Truth About Charlie is one very busy film, but it's really not going anywhere. Read full review
42
Portland OregonianKim Morgan
It's nice that Demme reveres the Hollywood classic, the French cinema and the glamour of his actors. But nice is all The Truth About Charlie is -- a nice mess.
40
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
Where "Charade" unfolds in a fantasy Paris full of glamorous white people, Demme's film takes place in a gray tangle of streets teeming with multi-ethnic Parisians. Newton and Robbins mimic Hepburn and Matthau, while Wahlberg is the anti-Grant, lumpen and thuggish rather than beguilingly debonair. Read full review
40
Village VoiceMichael Atkinson
Gave me a craving for something nouvelle, not a half-hearted Hollywood co-optation. Read full review
40
TimeRichard Corliss
Donen got it gloriously right the first time. Why do it again? And why do it like this? Read full review
40
L.A. WeeklyJohn Powers
The story itself falls to earth with a thud, not least because of a casting catastrophe. The boyish, goofily smiling Wahlberg is egregiously out of place as the kind of charming-ambiguous dreamboat you'd have to be Cary Grant to pull off. Read full review
38
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
The Truth About Charlie...is that this "Charade" remake is a lumpen bore. Read full review
30
Washington PostAnn Hornaday
At once listless and overheated, giddy and utterly zipless, the current incarnation lacks not just the savoir-faire of its stylish predecessor but also the sex appeal. Read full review
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