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03/26/09
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Birthday Girl (2002)
52
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:29
Fresh:15
Rotten:14
Average Rating:5.4/10
Consensus: Kidman shows her range in this quirky movie, but the shift in tone from romantic comedy to thriller may leave viewers unsatisfied.
Theatrical Release:Feb 1, 2002 Limited
Box Office: $4,919,896
Synopsis: At a London airport, shy bank clerk John (Ben Chaplin) watches passengers arriving from an international flight. He's waiting for his mail order bride to arrive from Russia. When she finally... [More]
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Ben Chaplin, Vincent Cassel, Mathieu Kassovitz
Director: Jez Butterworth
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Reviews for Birthday Girl
Top CriticClick to read the article
11/06/02
Top CriticClick to read the article
08/09/02
Top Critic'Butterfingered' is the word for the big-fisted direction of Jez Butterworth, who manages to blast even the smallest sensitivities from the romance with his clamorous approach.
04/08/02
Top CriticA deceptively clever romantic comedy that is also part caper, part thriller and a perfect vehicle for both Ms. Kidman and her talented co-star, Ben Chaplin.
03/13/02
Top CriticAs I watched the film struggle with all its switches and turnabouts, I wondered why it wasn't funnier, more charming or more exciting.
03/13/02
Top CriticIt's all over the road -- sometimes farce, sometimes horror, sometimes thriller, sometimes police procedural. And the truth is, no one in it is particularly sympathetic.
02/16/02
Top CriticClick to read the article
02/10/02
Top CriticIt may not be particularly innovative, but the film's crisp, unaffected style and air of gentle longing make it unexpectedly rewarding.
02/05/02
Top CriticThe cinematic equivalent of a wink and a smile. It's a pleasure to watch as just that.
02/04/02
Top CriticNicole Kidman was on a roll with Moulin Rouge and The Others, and that roll has come to a screeching halt.
02/04/02
Top CriticAn effortfully decorated romantic caper in which Ben Chaplin, as the shy hero, mats his hair down with Loser Gel and stares inertly to convey his dilemma about whether to stay good or live it up bad.
02/02/02
Top CriticNicole Kidman evolved from star to superstar some time over the past year, which means that Birthday Girl is the kind of quirkily appealing minor movie she might not make for a while.
02/01/02
Top CriticKidman is really the only thing that's worth watching in Birthday Girl, a film by the stage-trained Jez Butterworth (Mojo) that serves as yet another example of the sad decline of British comedies in the post-Full Monty world.
02/01/02
Top CriticBirthday Girl gets points for strangeness.
02/01/02
Top CriticNicole Kidman isn't bad as a Russian bride in this noirish sex comedy, but her feeble costar could use a good tug.
02/01/02
Top CriticGiven a smaller frame and literally darker shades to work with than she's accustomed to, Kidman is friskier, livelier and arguably more engaging than she's ever been.
02/01/02
Top CriticCertainly isn't the laugh riot of a thriller the trailers suggest.
02/01/02
Top CriticIt combines the polish and shapeliness -- and, alas, occasionally the expediency -- of a Hollywood movie with the edgy sensibility we're used to from foreign and independent films.
02/01/02
Top CriticLight the candles, bring out the cake and don't fret about the calories because there's precious little substance in Birthday Girl -- it's simply, and surprisingly, a nice, light treat.
02/01/02
Top CriticLatest News for Birthday Girl
September 27, 2005:
Nicole Kidman's a "Headhunter"
Variety reports on the newest project found on Ms. Nicole Kidman's schedule. It's called "Headhunters" and it's based on Jules Bass' well-admired graphic novel of the... More...
July 27, 2005:
Spielberg Settles On "Munich"
Universal Pictures and DreamWorks Pictures jointly announced today that the upcoming film being directed by three-time Academy Award-winning director-producer Steven Spielberg... More...
June 24, 2005:
Kassovitz Heads Out to "Babylon A.D."
Actor/writer/director Mathieu Kassovitz ("Hate," "Gothika," "The Crimson Rivers") will write and direct a movie based on the Maurice Dentac novel... More...
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