Vénus beauté (institut)
Lot 47 Films | Release Date: October 27, 2000 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
64
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 19 Critic Reviews
Positive:
15
Mixed:
4
Negative:
0

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
There is a sophistication about affairs of the heart, about the wisdom and the risks of romantic involvement that is more than quintessentially French. It's irresistible as well. Read full review
75
Seattle Post-IntelligencerSean Axmaker
At its best when it remains with the women, and Marshall draws marvelous performances from all. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
A pink-collar "Sex and the City" made urgent by the performance of Nathalie Baye. Read full review
75
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
Baye gives a stunning performance in the central role, backed by a first-rate supporting cast. Read full review
75
Baltimore SunAthima Chansanchai
Love, however implausible, is simply beautiful in Venus.
75
Boston GlobeJay Carr
It's all glossy urban fairy-tale stuff, laid on with style to spare, given added resonance by a mini-pantheon of French movie goddesses. Read full review
70
Film.comErnest Hardy
At its core is a feminine realm (the beauty parlor) through which modern issues of alienation and casual-sex-as-a-drug are coupled with timeless questions about the natures of love and desire. Read full review
70
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
A beautifully acted slice of intersecting lives defined and driven by the business of beauty. Read full review
70
SalonCharles Taylor
Lets you indulge your taste for soapy heartache without leaving you feeling that you have to wash the bubbles out of your mouth. Read full review
70
Village VoiceAmy Taubin
Thanks to some brilliant casting, Venus Beauty Institute provokes ideas about women, movies, sexuality, and age that extend beyond its frothy fiction. Read full review
70
L.A. WeeklyErnest Hardy
Director Tonie Marshall has taken a very simple story and laced it with potent details that make the film a rich map of her lead character's inner life. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
Clever and smooth, yet, like Angèle herself (or Nathalie Baye), the film is almost too placid for its own good. Read full review
63
New York PostJonathan Foreman
Slight but entertaining and occasionally touching. Read full review
63
New York Daily NewsJami Bernard
It's hard not to feel empowered by Nathalie Baye. Read full review
62
Mr. ShowbizMichael Atkinson
Mature and adroitly performed but ultimately underachieving. Read full review
60
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
A pretty good chronicle of a certain phase of French working-class life. Read full review
58
Portland OregonianKim Morgan
Marshall does such a good job re-creating the otherworldly energy of a temple of youth that the rest of the picture feels strained and sometimes trite. Nevertheless, parts can be absorbing, reflective and touching. Read full review
50
The New York TimesDana Stevens
Has occasional moments of heat, but not much warmth. And while it is pretty enough to look at, real beauty eludes it. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleKimberley Jones
Warmed my heart about as much as the cold cream Angèle slathers all over her wrinkling clients.
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