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02/22/08
August Rush (2007)
38
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:116
Fresh:44
Rotten:72
Average Rating:4.8/10
Consensus: Though featuring a talented cast, August Rush cannot overcome the flimsy direction and schmaltzy plot.
Australian Theatrical Release:
Feb 21, 2008 Wide
US Box Office: $31,529,568
Synopsis: AUGUST RUSH is part romance, part gentle fantasy, but this sweet drama is all heart. When young cellist Lyla (Keri Russell) and rock musician Louis (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) meet at a party in the mid... [More]
Starring: Freddie Highmore, Robin Williams, Keri Russell, Jonathan Rhys Meyers
Director: Kirsten Sheridan
Reviews for August Rush
Top CriticIt's far-fetched and a leap of faith of Olympic proportions is required to keep abreast of the plot, but August Rush does deliver some charming moments, largely due to charismatic performances from Keri Russell and Jonathan Rhys Meyers
02/14/08
Top CriticAugust Rush kind of feels like a 2-hour coming attractions preview. Lots of fragmented stuff happens, without ever connecting the dots in between.
03/10/08
All this could totally happen, just like an oak tree might spurt out of the ground to start singing and dancing, the Arizona Cardinals could win the next 50 Super Bowls.
11/22/07
Director Kirsten Sheridan's new film is August Rush. But she might as well have named it Oliver! 2: Electric Boogaloo.
11/20/07
We need to break out a whole new definition of cheesiness for a film like this, augmented by fake tears and vomit gestures.
11/21/07
However predictable, a good ol' fashioned happy ending is always welcome. But bring a box of tissues: A good cry is to be expected as well.
12/01/07
Will his parents, through a magical, utterly unlikely yet strangely compelling of fate, come running once they hear the longing in their little maestro's edgily hip, borderline Ani DiFrancoid slap-strumming? Far be it from me to state the obvious.
11/21/07
Schmaltzy and borderline insufferable.
11/21/07
Yes, August Rush is cheesy, almost embarrassingly so, but it's also irrepressibly sweet.
11/23/07
Those who are willing to open their hearts to this urban fairy tale will find its pleasures, as long as they they don't think about it too hard.
11/20/07
If August Rush is a fairy tale, it's an excruciatingly, sometimes hilariously oblivious one.
11/21/07
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04/03/08
Top CriticPassionate about the importance of music, August Rush is an ambitious family film that just about keeps its head above the rising waters of gushing sentimentality.
11/23/07
An exercise in dissonance.
11/21/07
I dislike sentimentality where it doesn't belong, but there's something brave about the way August Rush declares itself and goes all the way with coincidence, melodrama and skillful tear-jerking.
11/21/07
Top CriticIt's an unabashed feel-good weeper, and those eager for that type of fare might as well settle for this one. But an equal number will be put off by the bad dialogue, transparent manipulation and saccharine overkill.
11/20/07
It tries very hard to be fanciful, lyrical, sentimental, magical, rapturous, romantic, heartwarming, tear-jerking and inspiring. The result, however, is a goulash of half-baked bathos.
11/21/07
A light, fanciful touch at times bolsters its "fairy tale" feel, but at times the story incorporates just enough "realistic" elements to drag the whole thing back down to earth.
11/21/07
"August Rush" is a familiar, yet entertaining experience that works mostly because of the wonderful cast and the haunting mix of music.
12/12/07
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November 28, 2007:
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