Sharp, droll script but Chéri himself goes missing.
Comment
05/08/09
Cheri (2009)
54
%
Tomatometer
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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
Chéri is a very enjoyable and fascinating cinematic experience. Despite being set almost a century ago, the movie's central themes are very relevant to our age-obsessed contemporary society.
05/08/09
While too picture postcard and toothless, Cheri is an enjoyable, undemanding bouquet of period drama.
05/08/09
This reunion of Dangerous Liaisons talent is a lighter, less demanding confection than its blistering predecessor. Languid delights come in the shape of Pfeiffer, Bates and some extraordinary hats, but the title character is a wash-out.
05/08/09
Cheri radiates quality in every department, and - whether it's popular or not - this splendid achievement establishes him as one of Britain's very best film producers.
05/08/09
There's little in this period piffle to engage or entertain.
05/08/09
Beautifully directed by Stephen Frears, Cheri is funny, stylish - and made with class.
05/08/09
Only a fine performance from Pfeiffer and a couple of decent lines from Bates made it bearable.
05/08/09
Dazzlingly designed, the film salvages recognisable humanity in Rupert Friend’s Chéri, aka the unromantic (to Anglo-Saxon ears) Fred. Elsewhere the movie is as insubstantial as a soufflé, and less intellectually challenging.
05/08/09
Intrusive narration from Frears doesn’t help and the fact that Cheri is such a drip makes the all-consuming nature of the romance hard to swallow. The film just can’t match the elegance and wit that come so effortlessly to Pfeiffer.
05/08/09
Chéri looks a real treat, which is half the battle. It may not quite give the measure of Colette, nor Frears at his absolute best, but you don’t have to look at it through rose-tinted glasses to luxuriate in its splendour.
05/08/09
Pfieffer brings a real sense of vulnerability to proceedings, but Chéri is too passive a character and Friend simply isn't able to generate enough on-screen chemistry with her to make this work.
05/08/09
Enjoyable, sharply written drama with terrific central performances from Pfeiffer and Friend.
05/07/09
Mildly diverting but inconsequential, this costume drama reteams Pfeiffer, who's terrific as the aging courtesane but deserves better for a comeback, scribe Hampton and helmer Frears decades after their far superior collaboration on Dangerous Liaisons.
04/19/09
It is all beautifully costumed and set --items that should not be taken for granted.
02/27/09
The film belongs to Pfeiffer's Lea as she struggles to hold onto dignity in the face of age and crumbling vanity.
02/27/09
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