All Critics (77)
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Top Critics (24)
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Fresh (71)
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Rotten (9)
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DVD (10)
Conventional, slight, but charming.
Some nice performances and modest laughs highlight this amiable British comedy about a young man who goes off to Bristol University in the mid-'80s and does what young people naturally do when they go to college.
Written by David Nicholls, adapting his own novel, and directed by Tom Vaughan, a British TV veteran making his feature debut, Starter for 10 clips along smartly.
A modest, almost negligible British comedy.
The movie's enjoyable but almost wholly canned, coasting on the pleasure of its post-punk soundtrack and the novelty of the quiz-show scenes.
Starter has a mature sensibility and ... [director] Vaughan is able to refrain from obvious characterizations.
...a perfectly watchable (yet far-from-memorable) romantic comedy/coming-of-age story.
Pure feel-good romantic nostalgia, whether you lived in 1980's London or not.
A sweet, funny nostalgia trip back to the '80s for the anglophile in all of us.
Sharp jokes and heady nostalgia ensure it will at least please a wide audience.
James McAvoy delivers a star turn as Brian, a kid from the country obsessed with becoming smart.
There is an utter lack of visual energy at every turn, like every single take in the final cut was the last shot on that day of shooting.
There's nothing here we haven't seen done better before.
McAvoy carries the picture confidently enough as a leading man, and there is a nice performance from Benedict Cumberbatch.
A modest and very British movie.
This is expertly crafted entertainment that follows all the beats of a traditional romantic comedy, but it's done with such sincerity that it's difficult to begrudge the odd descent into cliché.
[The film] bears many of the hallmarks of teen comedies, but also boasts virtues not generally associated with the genre, such as wit, class consciousness, multidimensional characters, and a penetrating intelligence.
Has a strong story and engaging characters, even if it never really says anything terribly deep or meaningful.
Enjoyably fluffy romantic comedy with a witty script, an 80s-tastic soundtrack and a superb comic performance from James McAvoy.
Starter For Ten comfortably makes the grade for rib-tickling entertainment.
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