Critic Reviews
Sweet and Lowdown (1999) Rank 3 Reviews
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based on (150) reviews
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Jump Cut. Magazin für Film und Kritik
Entertainment Weekly (Lisa Schwarzbaum)
Allen draws a snappy, loose-limbed performance from Penn. ...read the complete Sweet and Lowdown movie review at Entertainment Weekly (Lisa Schwarzbaum)
Portland Oregonian (Shawn Levy)
Amazing as Penn is, Morton is his equal, creating a complete personality out of gestures, glances and unadorned bits of actorly business. ...read the complete Sweet and Lowdown movie review at Portland Oregonian (Shawn Levy)
San Francisco Examiner (Wesley Morris)
San Francisco Chronicle (Edward Guthmann)
San Francisco Chronicle (Edward Guthmann)
Qwipster's Movie Reviews (Vince Leo)
Another light, slight delight from filmmaker Woody Allen (Everyone Says I Love You, Mighty Aphrodite), who pens this fictional story about jazz guitarist Emmet Ray (Penn, U-Turn), a genius of an artist, second only to Django Reinhardt in his prowess on th ...read the complete Sweet and Lowdown movie review at Qwipster's Movie Reviews (Vince Leo)
Film Threat, Hollywood's Indie Voice
Movie Gazette (Gary Panton)
Austin Chronicle (Sarah Hepola)
Washington Post (Desson Thomson)
Penn's performance is the movie's ultimate grace note. As funny and ingenious as Allen's films can get, they are rarely known for depth of character. ...read the complete Sweet and Lowdown movie review at Washington Post (Desson Thomson)
Slate (David Edelstein)
Unexpectedly delectable. ...read the complete Sweet and Lowdown movie review at Slate (David Edelstein)
LA Weekly (F. X. Feeney)
Funny and light, all the more potent for seeming so effortless. ...read the complete Sweet and Lowdown movie review at LA Weekly (F. X. Feeney)
Time (Richard Corliss)
Samantha Morton, as Emmet's "mute orphan half-wit" of a girlfriend, is the sweet revelation. Rarely has a performer mined such complex and potent emotion from such simple materials: a smile, a shrug, an attentive winsomeness. ...read the complete Sweet and Lowdown movie review at Time (Richard Corliss)
The New York Times (Janet Maslin)
This is one very tuneful labor of love. ...read the complete Sweet and Lowdown movie review at The New York Times (Janet Maslin)
Salon.com (Stephanie Zacharek)
Undeniably pleasant, but British actress Samantha Morton quietly explodes it: Her performance is like nothing I've seen in recent years. ...read the complete Sweet and Lowdown movie review at Salon.com (Stephanie Zacharek)
Chicago Reader (Jonathan Rosenbaum)
Still about as good as Allen gets, a persuasive, nuanced, and relatively graceful portrait of an egotistical yet talented jazz guitarist of the swing era, astutely played by Sean Penn. ...read the complete Sweet and Lowdown movie review at Chicago Reader (Jonathan Rosenbaum)
Variety (David Stratton)
The almost wall-to-wall music is glorious, with solo guitarist Howard Alden doing a sock job. Penn, incidentally, utterly convinces in the scenes in which he's seen "playing" the guitar. ...read the complete Sweet and Lowdown movie review at Variety (David Stratton)
watchingmovies.com (Rob McKinnon)
filmcritic.com gets Low, really Lowdown
Empire Magazine (--)
TV Guide's Movie Guide (Maitland McDonagh)
Affectionate, melancholy and anchored by a well thought-out performance from Sean Penn. ...read the complete Sweet and Lowdown movie review at TV Guide's Movie Guide (Maitland McDonagh)
artechock (Richard Oehmann)
Austin Chronicle (Sarah Hepola)
A literate, sophisticated comedy whose humor and loss and hope linger in our hearts, like the jazz music it reveres, both sweet and lowdown. ...read the complete Sweet and Lowdown movie review at Austin Chronicle (Sarah Hepola)
A Guide to Current DVD (Aaron Beierle)
The Art House Squatter
San Francisco Chronicle (Edward Guthmann)
The best reason in years to reconsider (Woody Allen). ...read the complete Sweet and Lowdown movie review at San Francisco Chronicle (Edward Guthmann)
Palo Alto Weekly (Leonard Schwarz)
The Onion A.V. Club (Scott Tobias)
Allen's latest, Sweet And Lowdown, gives the Broadway Danny Rose treatment to its shambling reminiscences about a fictional jazz-guitar legend in the 1930s, but his collaborators manage to bail him out again. Bathed in the luscious colors of Chinese ...read the complete Sweet and Lowdown movie review at The Onion A.V. Club (Scott Tobias)
Greg's Previews at Yahoo! Movies (Greg Dean Schmitz)
Movie Parables (Michael Elliott)
FilmHead.com (Matt Heffernan)
Movie Hell (Michael J. Legeros)
Apollo Movie Guide (Mike DeWolfe)
Emmett Ray (Sean Penn) is an egotistical, self-absorbed, womanizing boozer with a nearly unmatched talent for the guitar. Woody Allen takes us into the jazz clubs of the 1930s in this account of a tortured and torturing musician. It’s 90 minutes of ...read the complete Sweet and Lowdown movie review at Apollo Movie Guide (Mike DeWolfe)
New York Post (Jonathan Foreman)
Isn't Allen's finest work by a long shot, but an undeniable part of its fascination is trying to figure out what -- if anything, even unconsciously -- he's trying to say about how he treated Farrow. ...read the complete Sweet and Lowdown movie review at New York Post (Jonathan Foreman)
New York Daily News (Jack Mathews)
Penn hasn't attempted much comedy since "Fast Times at Ridgemont High," but he's masterful here. ...read the complete Sweet and Lowdown movie review at New York Daily News (Jack Mathews)
Chicago Tribune (Michael Wilmington)
Exquisitely designed, lovingly executed, beautifully scored and played, every hair and note in place, it's a movie full of irony, passion and bluesy riffs. ...read the complete Sweet and Lowdown movie review at Chicago Tribune (Michael Wilmington)
Hollywood Report Card (Ross Anthony)
Lobo Howls (Judith Wolfe)
Big Picture Big Sound (Joe Lozito)
SPLICEDwire (Rob Blackwelder)
ReelViews (James Berardinelli)
Woody Allen has never reveled in the spotlight, but he has become even more reclusive in recent years, since the scandal involving his relationship with his wife, Soon Yi, came to light. Even so, despite numerous distractions, Allen has continued to make ...read the complete Sweet and Lowdown movie review at ReelViews (James Berardinelli)
DVD Review e-zine
Screen It! Entertainment Reviews for Parents
Here's a quick look at the content found in this PG-13 rated drama. Some sexual behavior is suggested (we see characters undressing beforehand, and then see them in bed afterwards), while some brief related talk occurs. Profanity consists of at least 1 ...read the complete Sweet and Lowdown movie review at Screen It! Entertainment Reviews for Parents
Movies 101 (Robert Glatzer)
The Dual Lens (Mike Ruderman)
DVD Verdict (Harold Gervais)
Los Angeles Times (Kenneth Turan)
Los Angeles Times (Kenneth Turan)
It's a loving and comic tribute to a musical era Allen knows well. ...read the complete Sweet and Lowdown movie review at Los Angeles Times (Kenneth Turan)
Newsweek (David Ansen)
Doesn't add up to any big deal. But it's a likable, lively little ditty -- one theme, some clever variations -- that never wears out its welcome. ...read the complete Sweet and Lowdown movie review at Newsweek (David Ansen)
Nick's Flick Picks (Nick Davis)
The Dual Lens (Davin Lagerroos)
Deseret News, Salt Lake City
Planet Sick-Boy (Jon Popick)
Shadows on the Wall (Rich Cline)
The Phantom Tollbooth
Memphis Flyer (Mark Jordan)
City Pages, Minneapolis/St. Paul
Seattle Post-Intelligencer (William Arnold)
A real showcase for Penn, who seems to positively delight in playing a slimy, hateful character that most stars would not go near. ...read the complete Sweet and Lowdown movie review at Seattle Post-Intelligencer (William Arnold)
Salon.com (Stephanie Zacharek)
Salon (Stephanie Zacharek)
Reeling Reviews (Robin and Laura Clifford)
World Socialist Web Site
eye WEEKLY (Alex Patterson)
Philadelphia City Paper (Cindy Fuchs)
Mr. Showbiz (Michael Atkinson)
A vapor trail of a comedy, comfortable as an old chair (and deliciously photographed in shades of melon and banana by Chinese vet Zhao Fei), but ultimately quaint and unchallenging. ...read the complete Sweet and Lowdown movie review at Mr. Showbiz (Michael Atkinson)
PopMatters (Josh Jones)
Spirituality & Health (Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat)
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Combustible Celluloid (Jeffrey M. Anderson)
Kino (Alessandro Bencivenni)
culturevulture.net, Choices for the Cognoscenti
Qwipster's Movie Reviews (Vince Leo)
Another light, slight delight from filmmaker Woody Allen (Everyone Says I Love You, Mighty Aphrodite), who pens this fictional story about jazz guitarist Emmet Ray (Penn, U-Turn), a genius of an artist, second only to Django Reinhardt in his prowess on th ...read the complete Sweet and Lowdown movie review at Qwipster's Movie Reviews (Vince Leo)
San Francisco Examiner (Wesley Morris)
Woody Allen's questionable toe-tapping faux-documentary. ...read the complete Sweet and Lowdown movie review at San Francisco Examiner (Wesley Morris)
Boston Globe (Jay Carr)
Agreeable eye candy and ear candy, but it's too slight to reach as deep as it thinks it wants to reach. ...read the complete Sweet and Lowdown movie review at Boston Globe (Jay Carr)
The Squiz: Cine Philes ("Guido Mezzabotta")
Expanded Cinemah
Due le grosse novità in questo ennesimo lungometraggio alleniano presentato fuori concorso a Venezia (ormai, è una tutto sommato piacevole abitudine): il direttore della fotografia, Zhao Fei ( everamente bravo nel ricreare i colori di una "America che ...read the complete Sweet and Lowdown movie review at Expanded Cinemah
Wolf Entertainment Guide (William Wolf)
Writer-director Woody Allen's "Sweet and Lowdown," a hit when it was unveiled at the 1999 Toronto International Film festival, is an entertaining mock documentary about a guitar player, a figment of Allen's imagination. The musician, named Emmet Ray, has ...read the complete Sweet and Lowdown movie review at Wolf Entertainment Guide (William Wolf)
Jigsaw Lounge (Neil Young)
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