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MAO'S LAST DANCERMovie Reviews
Biographical drama about Chinese dancer Li Cunxin who was plucked from his rural village to attend ballet school in Beijing and ultimately wound up defecting to the U.S. and dancing for the Houston Ballet Company. Cast:Bruce Greenwood, Kyle MacLachlan, Joan Chen, Chi Cao, Wang ShuangbaoDirector:Bruce BeresfordRelease Date:August 20, 2010DVD Release:July 26, 2011From:Samuel GoldwynRating:PGLength:1 hr 57 min
JULY 26, 2011
Mao's Last Dancer, Good (Not Great) Reviews Key Cities
Mao's Last Dancer played in key cities to good not great reviews. • Rick Groen wrote in the Toronto Globe & Mail, "...a tale of many journeys... The themes may soar but everything else – the dialogue, the performances, the direction, the dancing itself – is credibly grounded." • And Emanuel Levy wrote for Cinema 24/7, "...a well-intentioned but too earnest tale of one artist's struggles and triumphs..." More Reviews Below...
Mao's Last Dancer Positive Reviews (32 Reviews, reviews below)
Mao's Last Dancer has not been reviewed by Broad National Press
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (12 Reviews)
Mike Hale, New York Times: WEAK "...an old-fashioned tear-jerker.... stuck in an earlier era of heavy-handed clichés about Chinese innocence and American experience.... strenuously brainless."(See all of Mike Hale's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 617 words, 08/20/10
Sheri Linden, Los Angeles Times: MODERATE "Bruce Beresford knows how to tug heartstrings but as he moves the inspirational material toward its tear-jerker finale, it's often hampered by awkward melodrama."(See all of Sheri Linden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 270 words, 08/20/10
Lou Lumenick, New York Post: MODERATE(cg) "A shaky lead performance is the least of the problems... recounts the true story of Chinese ballet star Li Cunxin's defection to the US in the schmaltziest TV-movie terms..."(See all of Lou Lumenick's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 178 words, 08/20/10
Hedy Weiss, Chicago Sun-Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "Beresford, the gifted Australian filmmaker, has collaborated with cinematographer Peter James to capture a fine sense of time and place..."(See all of Hedy Weiss's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 710 words, 08/20/10
Brian Miller, Village Voice/LA Weekly: MODERATE "...means well, but it stumbles between genres.... There are bits of humor at the margins... The melodrama of a divided family is reliably squeezed for tears..."(See all of Brian Miller's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 264 words, 08/18/10
Bruce DeMara, Toronto Star: VERY GOOD(cg) "Restrained but heart-felt story-telling, fine performances and the splendour of ballet all combine to make 'Mao's Last Dancer' a memorable journey."(See all of Bruce DeMara's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 410 words, 05/14/10
Rick Groen, Toronto Globe & Mail: VERY GOOD(cg) "...a tale of many journeys... The themes may soar but everything else - the dialogue, the performances, the direction, the dancing itself - is credibly grounded."(See all of Rick Groen's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 675 words, 05/14/10
Radheyan Simonpillai, Toronto Now: WEAK(cg) "It has some pretty-looking ballet moves, but this biopic about Chinese dancer Li Cunxin is little more than a mediocre, lead-footed, cross-cultural melodrama."(See all of Radheyan Simonpillai's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 220 words, 05/13/10
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "This based-on-real-life tale of artistic aspirations and international politics is packed with more corn than an Iowa silo."(See all of Steven Rea's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 531 words, 08/20/10
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...an engrossing, well-acted but slow-moving and simplistic tale... a charming romance, a melodramatic clash of ideologies and a warm, deeply moving third act..."(See all of Roger Moore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 448 words, 08/20/10
Manuel Mendoza, Dallas Morning News: EXCELLENT(cg) "Ballet dancer Chi Cao does a great job of capturing both Li's chops on the stage and his sincerity and culture shock in the face of American opulence."(See all of Manuel Mendoza's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 404 words, 08/27/10
Moira Macdonald, Seattle Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...the kind of inspirational true-life story that seems made for the movies.... an appealing and, by its end, quite moving film."(See all of Moira Macdonald's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 348 words, 08/20/10
Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...the superb dancing is worth the turgid drama.... because it elevates a Chinese character to the world stage, the film mimics the next step in our cultural evolution."(See all of Joe Williams's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 381 words, 09/03/10
Brian Miller, Village Voice/LA Weekly: MODERATE "...means well, but it stumbles between genres.... There are bits of humor at the margins... The melodrama of a divided family is reliably squeezed for tears..."(See all of Brian Miller's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 264 words, 08/18/10
Brett Michel, Boston Phoenix: VERY GOOD(cg) "...a baldly inspiring tale of the exile's life, from poverty in China to fame and fortune in the US after a dramatic defection in the early '80s."(See all of Brett Michel's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 151 words, 08/19/10
Tasha Robinson, AV Club: MODERATE(cg) "...artless, obvious... And yet the real-life story of Chinese ballet dancer Li Cunxin, based on his autobiography, is often dramatic enough to win its way past the silly trappings."(See all of Tasha Robinson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 400 words, 08/19/10
Simon Abrams, Slant: POOR(cg) "Beresford ham-handedly hammers home any ostensibly earnest sentiments that screenwriter Jan Sardi invested in her already tediously bland script."(See all of Simon Abrams's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 873 words, 08/15/10
Radheyan Simonpillai, Toronto Now: WEAK(cg) "It has some pretty-looking ballet moves, but this biopic about Chinese dancer Li Cunxin is little more than a mediocre, lead-footed, cross-cultural melodrama."(See all of Radheyan Simonpillai's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 220 words, 05/13/10
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: GOOD "...flawed but pleasurable... often flies when Mr. Chi is on screen. When he is on stage, spinning and leaping to the strains of magnificent music, the film soars."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 764 words, 08/20/10
Mike Hale, New York Times: WEAK "...an old-fashioned tear-jerker.... stuck in an earlier era of heavy-handed clichés about Chinese innocence and American experience.... strenuously brainless."(See all of Mike Hale's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 617 words, 08/20/10
Sheri Linden, Los Angeles Times: MODERATE "Bruce Beresford knows how to tug heartstrings but as he moves the inspirational material toward its tear-jerker finale, it's often hampered by awkward melodrama."(See all of Sheri Linden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 270 words, 08/20/10
MOVIE INDUSTRY (6 Reviews)
Richard Kuipers, Daily Variety: MODERATE "...the story lights up when world-class performer Chi Cao leaps about as the adult Li, but is marred by lumpy melodrama when the music stops."(See all of Richard Kuipers's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 702 words, 09/14/09
Peter Brunette, Hollywood Reporter: GOOD "...emotional manipulation of the audience is constant and obvious.... [but] director Bruce Beresford knows exactly what he is doing at every moment..."(See all of Peter Brunette's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 588 words, 09/24/09
Sheri Linden, Los Angeles Times: MODERATE "Bruce Beresford knows how to tug heartstrings but as he moves the inspirational material toward its tear-jerker finale, it's often hampered by awkward melodrama."(See all of Sheri Linden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 270 words, 08/20/10
Emanuel Levy, Cinema 24/7: GOOD(cg) "...a well-intentioned but too earnest tale of one artist's struggles and triumphs, centering on the intoxicating love of art as well as the sacrifices that it calls for..."(See all of Emanuel Levy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 571 words, 08/19/10
Mike Hale, New York Times: WEAK "...an old-fashioned tear-jerker.... stuck in an earlier era of heavy-handed clichés about Chinese innocence and American experience.... strenuously brainless."(See all of Mike Hale's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 617 words, 08/20/10
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: GOOD "...flawed but pleasurable... often flies when Mr. Chi is on screen. When he is on stage, spinning and leaping to the strains of magnificent music, the film soars."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 764 words, 08/20/10
15.9 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
Mao's Last Dancer's reviews are separated by an average 15.9 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
Mao's Last Dancer (32 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:Mao's Last Dancer's reviews cover 29.8% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 14,475 words involume (average is 20,194 words). Length:The film's reviews average 452 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Reviews Broke 16 Days Before Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
Mao's Last Dancer's reviews on average broke 16 days before opening. Norm for this measure is 1.2 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is Mao's Last Dancer's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
Mao's Last Dancer (32 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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