| Critics Reviews |
Average Grade: |
B- |
|
| Source |
Brief Review |
Grade* |
Charlotte Observer
Lawrence Toppman |
"The movie runs out of steam before its finish, but [Kidman] doesn't." more... |
B- |
Chicago Sun-Times
Roger Ebert |
"There is a curious problem with Birthday Girl, hard to put your finger on: The movie is kind of sour. It wants to be funny and a little nasty, it wants to surprise us and then console us, but what it mostly does is make us restless." more... |
C+ |
Chicago Tribune
Michael Wilmington |
"...smart but inconsequential...[but] Kidman has a magical presence as an actress, and she gives any movie she's in bewitching moments." more... |
B- |
CNN.com
Paul Clinton |
"Kidman has definitely come into her own." more... |
B |
Los Angeles Times
Kenneth Turan |
"Though Birthday Girl is probably too unnerving and at times savage a relationship comedy to be a universal taste, its success on its own terms says a lot for the gifts of director-writer Butterworth." more... |
B |
New York Post
Lou Lumenick |
"Not a cause for celebration, Nicole excepted." more... |
C+ |
Premiere
Glenn Kenny |
"...quirky but minor..." more... |
C+ |
Reelviews
James Berardinelli |
"...passable entertainment, but it's the kind of motion picture that won't make much of a splash when it's released, and will not be remembered long afterwards." more... |
B- |
Rolling Stone
Peter Travers |
"...[Kidman] brings heart and erotic heat to the role of Nadia..." more... |
B |
Salon.com
Charles Taylor |
"Nicole Kidman isn't bad as a Russian bride in this noirish sex comedy, but her feeble costar [Ben Chaplin] could use a good tug." more... |
C+ |
San Francisco Chronicle
Mick LaSalle |
"Birthday Girl gets points for strangeness....[it] keeps the audience guessing. " more... |
B |
St. Paul Pioneer Press
Chris Hewitt |
"...Birthday Girl lucks out with Chaplin and Kidman, who are capable of anteing up some movie star charisma when they need it to sell us on this twisted love story, but who can also negotiate the movie's darker turns..." more... |
B- |
TV Guide
McDonagh Maitland |
"Kidman accomplishes a remarkable feat of transformation, adopting not only an accent, but a slightly seedy, faintly feral demeanor that almost makes you forget her icy good looks and fashion model's figure. Cassel and Kassovitz, both French, are equally impressive." more... |
B |
USA Today
Mike Clark |
"[Kidman] may get an Oscar nomination for the wrong movie — Moulin Rouge over The Others — but it would be a double misfortune for audiences to overlook a performance that boosts [this film] movie from moderate to memorable. " more... |
B |
Washington Post
Desson Howe |
"...promises more than it can actually deliver..." more... |
C- |
In Theaters 
