Critic Reviews
Bright Young Things (2003) Rank 5 Reviews
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based on (92) reviews
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Boston Herald (James Verniere)
Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)
If "Bright Young Things" were set today in Manhattan, it would be about Paris and Nicky Hilton and their circle, Rupert Murdoch, the gossip writers of Page Six, and bloggers for sites like ...read the complete Bright Young Things movie review at Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)
SPLICEDwire (Rob Blackwelder)
DVD Talk (Preston Jones)
Stephen Fry's bow behind the camera is an enjoyable, thoroughly professional outing that proves he can handle comedy and drama in equal measure. It's an assured debut that will hold many pleasures for fans of Brit-themed dramas; the curious among you ...read the complete Bright Young Things movie review at DVD Talk (Preston Jones)
St. Paul Pioneer Press (Chris Hewitt)
As much as "Bright Young Things" uses cynicism as a cover, it cannot hide the deeply romantic notion at its core: Fortunes appear and disappear so quickly that it's clear that, when set against sturdier concepts like love and happiness, money truly ...read the complete Bright Young Things movie review at St. Paul Pioneer Press (Chris Hewitt)
San Francisco Chronicle (Carla Meyer)
UpcomingDiscs.com (Michael Bell)
The movie is mostly about the posh lifestyle of novelist Adam Fenwick-Symes (played by Stephen Campbell Moore)and his lover Nina (played by Emily Mortimer). The circle of friends, however, add to the decadence; cameos by Peter O'Toole, Jim ...read the complete Bright Young Things movie review at UpcomingDiscs.com (Michael Bell)
Perth Sunday Times
Movie Gazette (Anton Bitel)
'Bright Young Things' is a riotously entertaining portrait of parasitic, feckless abandon in the late 1930s. A delicious, delirious dance through a time of serious change. ...read the complete Bright Young Things movie review at Movie Gazette (Anton Bitel)
Moviecentre.net - reviews
Salon (Stephanie Zacharek)
in its best moments, Bright Young Things is as lithe and as wicked as its source material. Depending on how much of a Waugh purist you are, its flaws may trouble you as you're watching it. But afterward, they might not matter so much. ...read the complete Bright Young Things movie review at Salon (Stephanie Zacharek)
A Guide to Current DVD (Aaron Beierle)
The Boston Phoenix
The Rewind Forums - DVD Reviews
New York Post (Megan Lehmann)
Ultimately, though, the lively whirl of debauched, drug-fueled parties and toffee-nosed exchanges between heiresses and aristocrats fails to mask the essential hollowness of the narrative. ...read the complete Bright Young Things movie review at New York Post (Megan Lehmann)
Harvey S. Karten
McAvoy, David Tennant, Julia McKenzie, Stockard Channing,Alex Barclay, Simon Callow, Bruno Lastra, Guy Henry, BillPaterson, Imelda Staunton, Harriet WalterScreened at: Review 1, NYC, 8/3/04Somebody once said that life is a banquet but that most of usare ...read the complete Bright Young Things movie review at Harvey S. Karten
Christian Science Monitor (David Sterritt)
The Land of Eric (Eric D. Snider)
Stephen Fry starred in the 1997 film "Wilde," so it is not surprising that "Bright Young Things" often feels like an Oscar Wilde play, and even has some plot points that resemble Oscar Wilde's life. I liked this film, but it's a hard one to peg. Its ...read the complete Bright Young Things movie review at The Land of Eric (Eric D. Snider)
ViewLondon (Matthew Turner)
Impressively written and directed by Stephen Fry, this is an enjoyable satirical comedy with a superb young cast.Bright Young Things is an adaptation of Evelyn Waugh’s satirical novel Vile Bodies and has been a pet project of writer-director Stephen ...read the complete Bright Young Things movie review at ViewLondon (Matthew Turner)
Susan Granger
The story begins as writer Adam Symes (Stephen Campbell Moore) returns from France to England, where customs officials confiscate his justcompleted manuscript. That doesn't sit well with his publisher (Dan Aykroyd) nor his fiancée Nina (Emily Mortimer) ...read the complete Bright Young Things movie review at Susan Granger
Austin Chronicle (Kimberley Jones)
Bright Young Things begins with the camera, bobbing and weaving to the frenzied swing of "Sing Sing Sing," zooming in on crazy-angled close-ups of London’s wealthy set in the 1930s, the title’s "bright young things." (The film is adapted from Evelyn ...read the complete Bright Young Things movie review at Austin Chronicle (Kimberley Jones)
Three Movie Buffs (Scott Nash)
As a comedy, Bright Young Things has moments of brilliance that more than make up for any weaknesses. Fenella Woolgar's moment as the ‘Spare Driver' is worth the price of admission all on its own. I just wish the drama could have succeeded as well as ...read the complete Bright Young Things movie review at Three Movie Buffs (Scott Nash)
Christian Science Monitor (David Sterritt)
When it comes to marketing, the movie business takes no chances. So what if Evelyn Waugh is regarded by just about everybody as one of the past century's greatest English writers? And so what if he purposefully chose "Vile Bodies" as the title of his ...read the complete Bright Young Things movie review at Christian Science Monitor (David Sterritt)
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (Ed Blank)
Treating a classic novel respectfully is one thing, making it work on its own terms another.
Like the concurrent "Vanity Fair," "Bright Young Things" is an honorable adaptation that is wanting in subtle ways. Only now and then does it breathe ...read the complete Bright Young Things movie review at Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (Ed Blank)
Boston Globe
"I've never been so bored or frantic in my life," says one of the bright young things at the start of "Bright Young Things," and at that point you may already be tempted to agree. We're in a roistering high-society party in London ...read the complete Bright Young Things movie review at Boston Globe
Film Threat, Hollywood's Indie Voice
Despite the omnipresent media whoring of its maker, Kill Bill: Volume Two took back seat this past weekend in Philadelphia, as the city's 13th Annual Film Festival kicked into high gear. It has become an annual tradition of sorts for myself and a ...read the complete Bright Young Things movie review at Film Threat, Hollywood's Indie Voice
Movie Habit (Marty Mapes)
Movies can do so much more than entertain, but if that’s all you’re looking for, you could do worse than Bright Young Things. ...read the complete Bright Young Things movie review at Movie Habit (Marty Mapes)
Reel.com
Storm clouds may be gathering over 1930s Europe, but you'd never know it from the shenanigans of the gang of friends known to tabloid readers as the "Bright Young Things." While the rest of the world suffers through the Great Depression and Hitler ...read the complete Bright Young Things movie review at Reel.com
Palo Alto Online (Jeanne Aufmuth)
Stephen Campbell Moore and Emily Mortimer in Bright Young ThingsExcess wit and energy imbue actor Stephen Fry's directorial debut with a winning joie de vivre. The Bright Young Things of tony Mayfair are the rage of London's effervescent social scene ...read the complete Bright Young Things movie review at Palo Alto Online (Jeanne Aufmuth)
Philadelphia Inquirer
Between the world wars in London, as today in most cultural capitals, scenemakers glowed with the luminescence and darting restlessness of lightning bugs. In his impudent 1930 satire, Vile Bodies, Evelyn Waugh tagged the fresh-faced, ...read the complete Bright Young Things movie review at Philadelphia Inquirer
Toronto Star
Based on Evelyn Waugh's acid-tinged comic novel Vile Bodies, author-actor-playwright-screenwriter Fry's first movie as director wallows in the haughty, spoiled-silly cynicism of its over-privileged characters: Adam (Stephen Campbell Moore), an aspiring ...read the complete Bright Young Things movie review at Toronto Star
U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
Almost Fabulous Movie Reviews
www.european-films.net (Boyd van Hoeij)
Close-up Film (Kerry McLeod)
digitallyOBSESSED.com (Joel Cunningham)
Mediasearch, Australia
BBC Films (Almar Haflidason)
Premiere Magazine (Glenn Kenny)
Deseret News, Salt Lake City
eye WEEKLY (Catharine Tunnacliffe)
DVD Verdict (Amanda DeWees)
One Guy's Opinion (Frank Swietek)
PopMatters (Dan Devine)
musicOMH (Michael Hubbard)
hybridmagazine.com
Reel.com (Pam Grady)
eFilmCritic.com (Erik Childress)
Exclaim! (Michelle Devereaux)
Sun Newspapers of Cleveland
Ozus' World Movie Reviews (Dennis Schwartz)
"The wit never comes through the art deco settings." ...read the complete Bright Young Things movie review at Ozus' World Movie Reviews (Dennis Schwartz)
Shadows on the Wall (Rich Cline)
Zertinet Movies Review
Dallas Observer (Gregory Weinkauf)
Spirituality & Health (Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat)
Movie-Vault.com (Avril Carruthers)
Three Imaginary Girls review (embracey)
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
european-films.net
The Movie Chicks
Oh, the antics of the young idle rich in 1930's London. Adam (Stephen Campbell Moore) wasn't born wealthy, but he has written a book about the ones who were. The only trouble is he can't get the manuscript through customs to give to his publisher ...read the complete Bright Young Things movie review at The Movie Chicks
Jigsaw Lounge (Neil Young)
filmcritic.com (Pete Croatto)
Bright Young Things arrives at an ideal time. Focusing on a group of twentysomething socialites having a frolicking good time in 1930s London, while the press hungers for every detail, it capitalizes on the current media’s fascination with idiot ...read the complete Bright Young Things movie review at filmcritic.com (Pete Croatto)
The (Georgetown) Hoya
Combustible Celluloid (Jeffrey M. Anderson)
stylusmagazine.com (Dave Micevic)
Chicago Tribune (Michael Wilmington)
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Despite some moments, the movie stubbornly fails to be the kind of sparkling ensemble piece one would expect from its credits -- and the fault seems to lie squarely with Fry's unfocused script, lackadaisical direction and conceptual sleight of hand. ...read the complete Bright Young Things movie review at Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Xi-online (Bregtje Schudel)
Boxoffice Magazine
Boxoffice Magazine
Steve Rhodes
When one of the story's vapid characters decides to committee suicide, don't be surprised if you find that you couldn't care less. This insufferable and inconsequential film finally comes to its obvious end, only to decide that it wants to graft another ...read the complete Bright Young Things movie review at Steve Rhodes
Rolling Stone (Peter Travers)
How clever of actor Stephen Fry ( Wilde ): He makes his debut as a director by adapting Evelyn Waugh's 1930 novel Vile Bodies -- about gossipy, fashion and sex-obsessed British party animals -- into a movie that would make Paris Hilton feel at home. Fry ...read the complete Bright Young Things movie review at Rolling Stone (Peter Travers)
Village Voice (Ed Park)
Aside from cameos by Jim Broadbent (as the drunken major) and Peter O'Toole (as Nina's reclusive, eccentric father), much of the acting strains for a sophistication that quickly becomes annoying. ...read the complete Bright Young Things movie review at Village Voice (Ed Park)
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