Remember Boyle and MacDonald's names: you'll be hearing them a lot when awards season comes around.
Comment
07/24/09
Cheri (2009)
54
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:116
Fresh:63
Rotten:53
Average Rating:5.7/10
Consensus: A too-short script and a romance lacking in heat detracts from an otherwise haughty charmer.
Australian Theatrical Release:
Jul 23, 2009 Wide
US Box Office: $2,643,292
Synopsis: Stephen Frears, director of THE QUEEN and HIGH FIDELITY, continues to demonstrate his genre-defying talent with this adaptation of a Colette novel. Set in Paris in the years before World War I,... [More]
Starring: Michelle Pfeiffer, Kathy Bates, Rupert Friend, Felicity Jones
Director: Stephen Frears
Reviews for Cheri
Top CriticA disappointing script lets down the film despite its lavish costuming and consummate cast.
07/22/09
Top CriticSadly the few good elements of Cheri only serve to highlight the films considerable inadequacies, and the only bedroom-based action it will inspire is a comforting nap, possibly before the end of the film.
07/27/09
Top CriticIf the devil is in the detail, this is a devil of a film
07/16/09
Top CriticThe intense chemistry between Pfeiffer and Friend is what really elevates Cheri above the sum of its slender parts.
07/22/09
Top CriticWhile it's not likely to be as admired as much as his Dangerous Liaisons, Frears - who is heard as the narrator - has given audiences an elegant treat that's easy to escape into, and there are skilful performances by the entire ensemble.
07/22/09
Top CriticAt the centre of this film is the luminous Pfeiffer who knows only too well the ravages of time in an industry where youth and beauty are so valued.
07/22/09
Top CriticThe film is a comedy of manners with a powerful undercurrent of tragedy. Cheri is funny, sad and charming, and the ending may shock you.
07/28/09
Top CriticStretching out like a cat on the wide screen, Michelle Pfeiffer shows off her durable glamour in the star role of Lea de Lonval, a high-class courtesan in pre-World War I France.
07/24/09
Top CriticBeautifully directed by Stephen Frears, Cheri is funny, stylish - and made with class.
05/08/09
A cold fish. It just lies there, too lethargic to be funny and too timid to be sexy, but not deep enough for any real drama.
06/25/09
Pfeiffer, uncertain how to convey the older, wiser erotomane, resorts to sounding like Samantha Jones auditioning for Masterpiece Theater, her décolletage the only part of this movie getting any air.
06/24/09
(T)he chemistry of these performers makes it not just believable but almost inevitable: emotionally guarded beauties who inadvertently allow affection into their relationship.
10/19/09
The film works best when it's being a comedy of bad manners. Hampton has honed some glittering, dartlike lines of dialogue, and they're tossed around with poised aplomb by the immaculately dressed cast.
05/13/09
The camera's gaze is so steady in the lengthy final shot that we can't help but notice the imperfections in even Pfeiffer's famously lovely aspect, especially when the only noise we hear on the soundtrack is the muffled but ruthless ticking of a clock.
07/13/09
Cheri is an engaging romantic melodrama that provides an authentic sense of time and place.
06/25/09
The movie looks beautiful but the story suffers, largely because the bond between Cheri and Lea is never particularly credible or compelling.
06/25/09
Michelle Pfeiffer deserved the finest vehicle for her comeback. This is the film-equivalent of a knackered Trabant with four bald tyres and a farting exhaust.
05/08/09
Top CriticSex, money and power are at the heart of the story in Cheri. What's not to like?
06/26/09
If I conclude that the film is ultimately a touch on the trivial side, I do not believe that I am accusing it of anything that the filmmakers didn't intend it to be.
07/01/09
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