Pretty Persuasion considers itself snarky black comedy, one of those self-consciously 'outrageous' artifacts that means to shock even as it amuses.
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08/26/05
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Pretty Persuasion (2005)
32
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:74
Fresh:24
Rotten:50
Average Rating:4.9/10
Consensus: Pretty Persuasion aims for high satire but falls short of poignancy by depending on too much black humor, with too little redeeming humanity to provide balance.
Theatrical Release:Aug 12, 2005 Limited
Box Office: $58,570
Synopsis: Music-video director Marcos Siega infuses this entertainingly dark social satire with stylish camerawork and clever editing. While visually rooted in the bubble gum teen comedy aesthetic, PRETTY... [More]
Starring: Evan Rachel Wood, Ron Livingston, James Woods, Jane Krakowski
Director: Marcos Siega
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Reviews for Pretty Persuasion
Top CriticPartly a character study, partly a monster movie (with the girl as the monster) and partly a satire of American values in the modern age, the film is also, alas, only partly successful.
08/26/05
Top CriticPretty Persuasion is a nasty piece of work. Yet it offers some unvarnished and amusing thoughts about American contradictions.
08/26/05
Nothing is less shocking than a movie that's constantly trying to shock....more bite than bark, but it's all dog.
08/26/05
Puerile social satire, stinging only insomuch as its unsophisticated wit and overwhelming smugness are painful to sit through.
08/26/05
Unlike Heathers and Election -- both brilliant satires because they exaggerate reality, magnify and darken the truth -- Pretty Persuasion is not funny because it's not true.
08/25/05
Populated by characters that are either over-the-top cartoonish or drawn with all the depth of stick figures, there is only one reason to watch this latest entry in the high-school-as-Dante's-ring genre -- Evan Rachel Wood.
08/25/05
The material in Pretty Persuasion needed to be handled as heavy drama, or played completely for comedy, and by trying to have it both ways, the movie has it neither way.
08/25/05
Top CriticWood does flip cynicism with such precise, easy rhythms and with such obvious pleasure in naughtiness that she’s impossible to hate.
08/22/05
Top CriticThis black comedy's mean-spiritedness comes in one size that fits all.
08/20/05
This thing is a racist cartoon version of American society in which all women are evil lesbians who enjoy destroying seemingly innocent people, who are probably guilty anyway.
08/20/05
It’s both the joy and folly of Pretty Persuasion that it attempts to skewer Beverly Hills, underage schoolgirls, post-9/11 America, TV news media sensationalism and more.
08/18/05
Sad to say, but satires about mean teen girls have gotten predictable. Stale.
08/16/05
Pretty Persuasion is just smart enough for scattershot humor, but not perceptive or deep enough to be meaningful.
08/13/05
In spite of its darkness and 'edge,' it wants us too really, really like it. Sorry. As pretty and non-persuasive as you are, we really, really don't.
08/12/05
An astoundingly articulate, utterly unforgiving black comedy about a teenage Satan doll who causes massive havoc in the lives of many dreadful, deserving adults.
08/12/05
Most of Halim's script is a laundry list of offensive remarks that he no doubt means to serve as titillating spoof, but none of it's funny or even the least bit provocative, just offensive.
08/12/05
Marcos Siega is trying to make a dark comedy on par with American Beauty and Heathers, but it comes off as too silly and light to be taken seriously.
08/12/05
Pretty Persuasion is so exploitative and misogynistic that its last-minute dramatic turns and pleas for tolerance and understanding come off as manipulative as its heroine.
08/12/05
Top CriticPretty Persuasion sets out to be a social critique but settles for smug disdain.
08/12/05
Latest News for Pretty Persuasion
November 30, 2005:
In "Theory," Reynolds, Mortimer & Townsend Will Co-Star
Ryan Reynolds, Stuart Townsend, and Emily Mortimer will star in "Chaos Theory," says The Hollywood Reporter. The comedy is coming from "Pretty Persuasion"... More...
October 06, 2005:
Summer Tomatometer Wrap-up #4: The Worst of the Summer
Over the past few days, we've tried to counter the common misconception that this summer's cinematic fare was bereft of quality. However, that doesn't mean the season was... More...
September 19, 2005:
Ryan Reynolds and Marcos Siega to Test the "Chaos Theory"
Variety reports that actor Ryan Reynolds and "Pretty Persuasion" director Marcos Siega will be bringing the comedy "Chaos Theory" to life, by way of Castle... More...
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