Critic Reviews
Prime (2005) Rank 3 Reviews
Expert Review Summary
based on (221) reviews
Click on the numbers to the right of the graph to see reviews of that rating
Reviews by Score:
Orlando Weekly (John Thomason)
Empire Movies (Liam Cullin)
Wolfpack Productions (Sujit 'Chief' Chawla)
artechock (Nani Fux)
Movieman's Guide to the Movies (Brian Oliver)
Austin Chronicle (Marc Savlov)
You don’t have to be Jewish to enjoy this light romantic comedy, but it helps. Younger directed the terrific Wall Street-wannabes flick Boiler Room in 2000, and this film, dotted with Manhattan landmarks like the Magnolia Bakery and the Cinema Village, ...read the complete Prime movie review at Austin Chronicle (Marc Savlov)
The Hollywood Reporter (Kirk Honeycutt)
A prime example of a solid romantic comedy. ...read the complete Prime movie review at The Hollywood Reporter (Kirk Honeycutt)
efilmcritic.com (Peter Sobczynski)
Film Threat (Rory L. Aronsky)
All of "Prime" is ripe for the kind of discovery that comes with seeing it on a video store shelf after either passing it a few times or not finding what you wanted the first time. ...read the complete Prime movie review at Film Threat (Rory L. Aronsky)
UKscreen (Jason Korsner)
Scribble King
Fulvue Drive-in
Austin Chronicle (Marc Savlov)
You don't have to be Jewish to enjoy this light romantic comedy, but it helps. ...read the complete Prime movie review at Austin Chronicle (Marc Savlov)
The Trades (Adam Scholtz)
DVD Authority.com ("Fusion3600")
Home Theater Info (Doug MacLean)
A Guide to Current DVD (Aaron Beierle)
The Phantom Tollbooth
The Red Right Hand (Matt Stogdon)
Boston Globe
In ''Prime," a surprisingly smart romantic comedy, Uma Thurman plays Rafi Gardet, a stunning New Yorker who's going through a divorce. After a week of being legally single, she starts seeing David Bloomberg (Bryan Greenberg), a lanky and handsome artist ...read the complete Prime movie review at Boston Globe
Baltimore Sun (Chris Kaltenbach)
Prime serves as yet another showcase for Streep; to prove how expertly she plays a Jewish mother with a Ph.D. in psychology, just imagine Barbra Streisand in the role -- you'd have a farce only a step above slapstick. With Streep, you get a smartly ...read the complete Prime movie review at Baltimore Sun (Chris Kaltenbach)
La Presse, Montréal
Three Movie Buffs (Eric Nash)
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (Ed Blank)
Writer-director Paul Younger, who did such a fine job on "Boiler Room" (2000), an overlooked drama about cutthroat stockbrokers, bites off an ambitious subject in "Prime" and then settles for romantic-comedy situations and solutions.
"Prime" ...read the complete Prime movie review at Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (Ed Blank)
ViewLondon (Matthew Turner)
Enjoyable romcom with a witty script and a superb comic performance from Streep.What’s it all about?Set in New York, Prime stars Uma Thurman as Rafi, a 37 year old photography producer reeling from a recent divorce. When she falls for 23 year old ...read the complete Prime movie review at ViewLondon (Matthew Turner)
The Movie Chicks
Rafi Gardet (Uma Thurman) would be living a life full of angst if it were not for her psychoanalyst Dr. Lisa Metzger (Meryl Streep). Rafi is trying to get over a divorce and find her way in the world and she depends on the sage advice that Lisa ...read the complete Prime movie review at The Movie Chicks
Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)
There are some one-liners that zing not only with humor but truth. On the whole I was satisfied. ...read the complete Prime movie review at Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)
Kalamazoo Gazette (James Sanford)
Younger's real achievement is his ability to show the romance from all three vantage points. ...well-stocked with smart one-liners and sharp observations... ...read the complete Prime movie review at Kalamazoo Gazette (James Sanford)
Sacramento Bee (Carla Meyer)
Funny, heartfelt and flawed romantic comedy. ...read the complete Prime movie review at Sacramento Bee (Carla Meyer)
Salt Lake Tribune (Sean Means)
Prime may not work as a whole movie, but the sum of its parts is remarkable. ...read the complete Prime movie review at Salt Lake Tribune (Sean Means)
EmanuelLevy.com (Emanuel Levy)
Though Younger contests Woody Allen's stereotype of the Jewish lover as a nebbish, his low-key, ultra-modest film represents a step down from his striking debut, Boiler Room ...read the complete Prime movie review at EmanuelLevy.com (Emanuel Levy)
Worcester Telegram & Gazette (Daniel M. Kimmel)
Streep has played comedy before, and she’s on top of her game here, able to do more with a twitching eyebrow than some actresses can do with a page of dialogue. ...read the complete Prime movie review at Worcester Telegram & Gazette (Daniel M. Kimmel)
South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Phoebe Flowers)
A truly surprising, warm and delightful romantic comedy. ...read the complete Prime movie review at South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Phoebe Flowers)
Rolling Stone (Peter Travers)
Hilarious and heartfelt. ...read the complete Prime movie review at Rolling Stone (Peter Travers)
ReelViews (James Berardinelli)
This may sound like Woody Allen - in fact, it often feels like Woody Allen (minus the expected helpings of angst) - but it's not. Prime is from writer/director Ben Younger and, while it's not up to the level of Allen's great romantic comedies ("Annie ...read the complete Prime movie review at ReelViews (James Berardinelli)
Miami Herald (Connie Ogle)
Prime may have its unlikely moments, but overall its heart is winningly untraditional and in exactly the right place. ...read the complete Prime movie review at Miami Herald (Connie Ogle)
Boston Globe (Wesley Morris)
Yes, Younger has made an update of the ''shiksa who changed my life" story in ''Annie Hall." But Prime is missing the psychological acuity and scabrous cultural wit of Woody Allen at his best. These lovers meet standing in line to see Antonioni's ...read the complete Prime movie review at Boston Globe (Wesley Morris)
Rolling Stone (Peter Travers)
Younger knows it's fun to watch Rafi and David cross lines of age, culture and religion. He also knows it's painful. That's what makes his movie hilarious and heartfelt. ...read the complete Prime movie review at Rolling Stone (Peter Travers)
Detroit News (Tom Long)
It offers an unlikely romance in a somewhat comic situation, finding both humor and emotional truth. ...read the complete Prime movie review at Detroit News (Tom Long)
Bangor Daily News (Maine) (Christopher Smith)
Prime sometimes feel as if the movie itself hasn't fully formed or matured. Ironic, yes, so it's nice that it has Streep and Thurman to pull you through. ...read the complete Prime movie review at Bangor Daily News (Maine) (Christopher Smith)
Qwipster's Movie Reviews (Vince Leo)
<div style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 14.4pt">Prime ostensibly gets its title from the theory that men reach their sexual prime in their early adulthood, while women hit it as they approach 40. Writer-director Ben Younger (Boiler Room) goes a step ...read the complete Prime movie review at Qwipster's Movie Reviews (Vince Leo)
ReelViews (James Berardinelli)
Consider a movie that takes place in the Big Apple and features a heterosexual romance with an age gap, a dose of "Jewishness," a psychoanalyst, and an ending that doesn't pander to all the usual clichés. This may sound like Woody Allen - in fact, it ofte ...read the complete Prime movie review at ReelViews (James Berardinelli)
Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)
"Flawed" is a word movie critics use more often than jewelers. They have looked into the heart of a sparkling gem and found an imperfection. Every movie should be perfect, and on such grounds, "Prime" is flawed. Its flaw is that it employs an Idiot Plot i ...read the complete Prime movie review at Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)
Comingsoon.net
DVD Talk (Eric D. Snider)
Christian Spotlight on the Movies
If you watched the trailer to Prime, and equate the title to an adult’s sexual prime, you already have a good idea about what there is to review. The movie is both a sex comedy and a drama that is a strong PG-13. According to IMDb it was originally ...read the complete Prime movie review at Christian Spotlight on the Movies
filmcritic.com (Sean O'Connell)
The title makes no sense – when you hear Prime, you expect a movie about numbers or meat – but the sentiments found in this cute romantic comedy are easily identifiable. Writer/director Ben Younger follows up his stocks-and-bombs thriller ...read the complete Prime movie review at filmcritic.com (Sean O'Connell)
Rolling Stone (Peter Travers)
Fluff? Relax. It only sounds like it. Rafi (Uma Thurman) is thirty-seven, divorced and having hot sex with David (Bryan Greenberg), a painter who is twenty-three and living with his grandparents. Rafi's shrink Lisa Metzger (Meryl Streep, of all people) ...read the complete Prime movie review at Rolling Stone (Peter Travers)
FilmFocus.Co.UK (Joe Utichi)
At the height of somewhat of a career reinvigoration since her last outing Tarantino in Kill Bill, Uma Thurman has been taking roles so forgettable that it's really only a matter of time, it seems, before she's swept back under the carpet, left hoping ...read the complete Prime movie review at FilmFocus.Co.UK (Joe Utichi)
Sacramento News & Review (Jim Lane)
filmcritic.com
Comingsoon.net
Reel.com DVD review (Kim Morgan)
Hollywood Stock Exchange (Amy Lamare)
Cinema Blend (Joshua Tyler)
TheCinemaSource.com (Steve Moreau)
The Sydney Morning Herald
Pajiba (Jeremy C. Fox)
Qwipster's Movie Reviews (Vince Leo)
<div style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 14.4pt">Prime ostensibly gets its title from the theory that men reach their sexual prime in their early adulthood, while women hit it as they approach 40. Writer-director Ben Younger (Boiler Room) goes a step ...read the complete Prime movie review at Qwipster's Movie Reviews (Vince Leo)
Hoosier Revue
U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
CineScene.com (Chris Knipp)
Future Movies (Richard Strachan)
Film Blather (Eugene Novikov)
A Nutshell Review
DVD Town (William David Lee)
Your typical romantic comedy follows a pretty, basic, cookie cutter formula. The male lead is something, the female lead is something else, and their backgrounds make them an unlikely combination. They meet cute, fall in love, break up, then realize they ...read the complete Prime movie review at DVD Town (William David Lee)
DVD Verdict (Brett Cullum)
digitallyOBSESSED.com (David Krauss)
Bina007 Movie Reviews
moviereview (Colin Fraser)
Wolf Entertainment Guide (William Wolf)
Screen It! Entertainment Reviews for Parents
Actors Ink (Ray Wong)
filethirteen.com
Ozus' World Movie Reviews (Dennis Schwartz)
"All the characters are likeable and flawed (just like the genial film)." ...read the complete Prime movie review at Ozus' World Movie Reviews (Dennis Schwartz)
Reel Film Reviews (David Nusair)
Exclaim! (Peter Knegt)
Deseret News, Salt Lake City
allesfilm.com (Miriam Daill)
The Onion A.V. Club
hoopla.nu
Featuring an excellent trio of leads, and an interesting concept as far as it goes, Prime should have been an amusing diversion, but due to the tactlessness of the marketing 'gurus' it is stripped of its only really unique feature and becomes a fairly ...read the complete Prime movie review at hoopla.nu
Film Freak Central
skymovies.com (Elliott Noble)
Premiere Magazine
ReelTalk (Diana Saenger)
eFilmCritic Reviews
Washington Post (Desson Thomson)
Sure, this romance, starring Meryl Streep, Uma Thurman and Bryan Greenberg, follows a familiar boy-meets-girl scenario, but Younger turns the routine into combustible fun. ...read the complete Prime movie review at Washington Post (Desson Thomson)
Los Angeles Times (Carina Chocano)
Despite the snappy brilliance of the setup, Prime doesn't entirely deliver on its promise -- something about the way it ends feels like a cop-out, and the opportunities for humor aren't exploited quite as well as they could be. ...read the complete Prime movie review at Los Angeles Times (Carina Chocano)
New York Daily News (Jack Mathews)
The Flickering Wall
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Entertainment Weekly
Not one bit of the story tracks. But with these women in these roles, you're asking for ...read the complete Prime movie review at Entertainment Weekly
Oregonian (M.E. Russell)
David makes little sense as a character. ...read the complete Prime movie review at Oregonian (M.E. Russell)
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Philip Martin)
...hack work done by talented people rather than hack work done by hacks. ...read the complete Prime movie review at Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Philip Martin)
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Slant Magazine
PopMatters (Cynthia Fuchs)
The Arizona Republic
Shadows on the Wall (Rich Cline)
Christian Science Monitor (Peter Rainer)
Frankly, the most disturbing thing about Prime is that Uma Thurman is now officially an Older Woman. ...read the complete Prime movie review at Christian Science Monitor (Peter Rainer)
Reel.com (Tim Knight)
The QNetwork Film Desk (James Kendrick)
The Flick Filosopher (MaryAnn Johanson)
SearchSA.com.au (Christina Bruce)
Cineclub-Filmkritik
New York Post (Lou Lumenick)
The sort of movie where all of the best jokes are in the trailer, but these days a romantic comedy with anything worth quoting at all is something of an accomplishment. ...read the complete Prime movie review at New York Post (Lou Lumenick)
USA Today (Claudia Puig)
Despite its title, Prime is not a cut above. This romantic comedy's predictability and rather dull love story make it the cinematic equivalent of a slightly stale hamburger. ...read the complete Prime movie review at USA Today (Claudia Puig)
Movies 101 (Robert Glatzer)
In spite of the least attractive title in ages, "Prime" is two-thirds of a marvelous movie. Those two are the performances of Meryl Streep and Uma Thurman, who between them almost carry the film; it's just that the third third, you might say, is the ...read the complete Prime movie review at Movies 101 (Robert Glatzer)
ShowBIZ Data
Reviews for Prime , starring Uma Thurman and Meryl Streep fly in every direction. For example, there's Claudia Puig, who writes in USA Today: "Despite its title, Prime is not a cut above. This romantic comedy's predictability and rather dull love story ...read the complete Prime movie review at ShowBIZ Data
Palo Alto Online (Jeanne Aufmuth)
Bryan Greenberg and Uma Thurman in PrimeMeryl Streep knows how to work a movie, every moment of screen time charged with a glow. Unfortunately, that glow isn't enough to save a romantic comedy that's merely half a good movie. Streep is a therapist named ...read the complete Prime movie review at Palo Alto Online (Jeanne Aufmuth)
Philadelphia Inquirer
Mercifully, the new Hollywood comedy ``Prime'' is not about higher mathematics, but it has everything to do with numbers and chemistry and formula. This featherweight film is about how one woman plus one guy plus his mother doesn't add up ...read the complete Prime movie review at Philadelphia Inquirer
Q Network Film Desk (James Kendrick)
Prime, you probably think it’s about something that it’s not really about. The advertisements for the film are an interesting case of purposeful misdirection, as they make it appear as though Prime is a light romantic comedy hinged on the idea of an ...read the complete Prime movie review at Q Network Film Desk (James Kendrick)
One Guy's Opinion (Frank Swietek)
Technically the picture is reasonably good, though Younger’s direction occasionally goes slack, the periodically hand-held camerawork of cinematographer William Rexer often seems an undue attempt to give scenes an edginess they don’t actually ...read the complete Prime movie review at One Guy's Opinion (Frank Swietek)
Reel.com
Yet for all of Prime 's many virtues, which range from Thurman's utterly beguiling performance to her affecting romance with Greenberg, the film loses much of its momentum once the couple's relationship is public knowledge. A sense of inertia sets in, ...read the complete Prime movie review at Reel.com
Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Eleanor Ringel Gillespie)
Writer-director Ben Younger wants to be Woody Allen in the worst way. Unfortunately, he's gone about it in the worst way. ...read the complete Prime movie review at Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Eleanor Ringel Gillespie)
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