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SNOW FLOWER AND THE SECRET FANMovie Reviews
Drama about the descendants of two 19th century spiritual sisters who struggle to maintain their enduring bond by exploring their ancestral connection in modern-day Shanghai. Cast:Bingbing Li, Gianna Jun, Vivian Wu, Hugh JackmanDirector:Wayne WangRelease Date:July 15, 2011DVD Release:November 1, 2011From:Fox SearchlightRating:PG-13Length:2 hr. 0 min.
NOVEMBER 1, 2011
Snow Flower And The Secret Fan, Weak Reviews Key Cities
Snow Flower And The Secret Fan played in key cities to weak reviews. • Moira Macdonald wrote in the Seattle Times, "...bears little resemblance to the book, and even less resemblance to a good movie." • And Carrie Rickey wrote in the Philadelphia Inquirer, "...a story of much visual grace and, sadly, considerable narrative awkwardness." More Reviews Below...
Snow Flower And The Secret Fan Positive Reviews (38 Reviews, reviews below)
David Germain, Associated Press: MODERATE(cg) "...the modern story whipped up for 'Snow Flower' isn't very compelling.... it dominates the movie, continually oozing back in just as the period drama is getting interesting."(See all of David Germain's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 626 words, 07/14/11
Keith Staskiewicz, Entertainment Weekly: WEAK(cg) "A feat of East-West rapprochement that would have stupefied Nixon... Sadly, rather than melding the best of two worlds, the film only takes the worst of their soap operas."(See all of Keith Staskiewicz's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 99 words, 07/15/11
Claudia Puig, USA Today: MODERATE(cg) "The lesson of the lovely-looking, but disappointing film is avoid tinkering too much with a novelist's work.... the modern story lacks substance and descends into soap opera."(See all of Claudia Puig's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 404 words, 07/15/11
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: MODERATE(cg) "...thin... Soppy and sentimental, it evokes 'Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood' without improving on it. More of 'Fried Green Tomatoes' would have been preferable."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 844 words, 07/22/11
James Rocchi, MSN Movies: POOR(cg) "Wang's trying to reheat a dish he's served up before, but it has none of the flavor or the freshness it had 18 years ago... tasteless, tear-jerking, artificially flavored..."(See all of James Rocchi's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 792 words, 07/13/11
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (12 Reviews)
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: POOR "At once preposterously genteel and sadistic... so pointlessly disjointed that it's hard not to wonder if several competing adaptations have been crammed into one movie."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 730 words, 07/15/11
Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: WEAK(cg) "...its present-day tale, involving a career woman seeking to mend her 20-year bond with a girlfriend injured in an accident, is lax and clunky... gorgeous but simplistic."(See all of Joe Neumaier's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 149 words, 07/15/11
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: WEAK "Wayne Wang has weighted down the big-screen version of the novel with a couple of 21st century Sex in Shanghai-styled BFFs who've had a nasty falling-out."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 610 words, 07/15/11
V.A. Musetto, New York Post: MODERATE(cg) "You're advised to bring a hankie or two should you venture forth... a cross-generational chick flick from a novel by Lisa See."(See all of V.A. Musetto's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 298 words, 07/15/11
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: MODERATE(cg) "...forces a pan-Asian ensemble into one too many English-language dialogue sequences and then has one character comment, 'Enough of this silly English'..."(See all of Michael Phillips's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 566 words, 07/22/11
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: MODERATE(cg) "...thin... Soppy and sentimental, it evokes 'Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood' without improving on it. More of 'Fried Green Tomatoes' would have been preferable."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 844 words, 07/22/11
Karina Longworth, Village Voice/LA Weekly: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "Wayne Wang adds a charge of relevance to a story otherwise hinged on the dated traumas of foot binding and arranged marriages... it's strangely provocative."(See all of Karina Longworth's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 240 words, 07/13/11
Jennie Punter, Toronto Globe & Mail: WEAK(cg) "...the flipping back and forth between two centuries - not to mention the weak modern story also moves around in time - never allows us to engage fully with the characters."(See all of Jennie Punter's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 613 words, 07/15/11
Andrew Dowler, Toronto Now: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...an unabashed hymn to women's abiding friendships, and, like many hymns, its tone is subdued and pace not exactly lively. But there's no shortage of heart."(See all of Andrew Dowler's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 211 words, 07/14/11
KEY CITIES (14 Reviews)
Stephanie Merry, Washington Post: WEAK(cg) "...the final moments manage to mine the poignancy that should have permeated the preceding 90 minutes. It's not enough to make it worth the price of admission..."(See all of Stephanie Merry's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 509 words, 07/22/11
Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...an unwieldy script from Angela Workman, Ron Bass, and Michael Ray... a story of much visual grace and, sadly, considerable narrative awkwardness."(See all of Carrie Rickey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 356 words, 07/22/11
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: WEAK(cg) "...almost every scene is missing that spark... it suggests that Wang, who once held the secret to making tear jerkers like this jerk those tears, has lost it."(See all of Roger Moore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 483 words, 07/28/11
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: MODERATE(cg) "...all I'm saying is Lisa See wrote a hit novel, and now Wayne Wang has made a film of it. You can ignore that, since the movie more or less does."(See all of Wesley Morris's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 693 words, 07/22/11
Stephen Whitty, New Jersey Star-Ledger: MODERATE(cg) "Wendi Murdoch -- the wife of the studio mogul -- fell in love with the Lisa See bestseller when she read it, and became determined to turn it into a movie..."(See all of Stephen Whitty's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 542 words, 07/15/11
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: POOR(cg) "...has such seriousness and purpose behind it that for 10 or 15 minutes it could be mistaken for a good movie. Wang's direction is disappointing throughout."(See all of Mick LaSalle's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 560 words, 07/15/11
Marc Mohan, Portland Oregonian: FAIR(cg) "The performances, often delivered for no good reason in awkwardly accented English, are almost universally wooden.... so saccharine as to be insulting."(See all of Marc Mohan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 268 words, 07/29/11
Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: MODERATE(cg) "Once we've quickly digested the fortune-cookie message that modern women are as bound by obligations as their grandmothers were, all we can savor is the scenery."(See all of Joe Williams's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 368 words, 07/22/11
Steve Persall, St. Petersburg Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...a keen eye for period detail makes the 19th century sequences lovely to observe. But it's nothing we haven't seen before."(See all of Steve Persall's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 365 words, 08/04/11
Tom Long, Detroit News: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "The somewhat obvious idea that true friendship conquers all is given lush treatment by Wang.... It's a coordinated, stylish dance, but the steps are awfully familiar."(See all of Tom Long's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 341 words, 07/29/11
Connie Ogle, Miami Herald: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...despite their truncated screen time Lily and Snow Flower do make you care about their fates. But you would have cared more without all the distraction."(See all of Connie Ogle's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 457 words, 08/05/11
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (7 Reviews)
Karina Longworth, Village Voice/LA Weekly: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "Wayne Wang adds a charge of relevance to a story otherwise hinged on the dated traumas of foot binding and arranged marriages... it's strangely provocative."(See all of Karina Longworth's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 240 words, 07/13/11
Betsy Sherman, Boston Phoenix: VERY GOOD(cg) "...elegant and engrossing... The intimacy feels real, and the fan that's filled with messages as it's exchanged between Lily and Snow Flower is a potent visual device."(See all of Betsy Sherman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 161 words, 07/21/11
Alison Willmore, AV Club: MODERATE(cg) "...stilted and emotionally remote.... Korean Gianna Jun and Chinese Li Bingbing spend half the film speaking English, with which neither seems comfortable."(See all of Alison Willmore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 432 words, 07/14/11
Stephanie Zacharek, Movieline: MODERATE(cg) "Wang alludes mighty heavily to the women's devotion and attraction to one another, only to back away from it as if it were something to be ashamed of."(See all of Stephanie Zacharek's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,070 words, 07/14/11
Jesse Cataldo, Slant: WEAK(cg) "...sad, sumptuous fluff with a refined literary pedigree... less an account of friendship than a connective tissue-laced list of the things that threaten it."(See all of Jesse Cataldo's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 696 words, 07/14/11
Andrew Dowler, Toronto Now: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...an unabashed hymn to women's abiding friendships, and, like many hymns, its tone is subdued and pace not exactly lively. But there's no shortage of heart."(See all of Andrew Dowler's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 211 words, 07/14/11
HIGHBROW PRESS (3 Reviews)
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: WEAK "While the action flashes back and forth in time, we're adrift in the here and now, trying to get a grip on the characters and their relationships..."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 259 words, 07/15/11
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: POOR "At once preposterously genteel and sadistic... so pointlessly disjointed that it's hard not to wonder if several competing adaptations have been crammed into one movie."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 730 words, 07/15/11
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: WEAK "Wayne Wang has weighted down the big-screen version of the novel with a couple of 21st century Sex in Shanghai-styled BFFs who've had a nasty falling-out."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 610 words, 07/15/11
MOVIE INDUSTRY (6 Reviews)
Justin Chang, Daily Variety: POOR "What should be a moving testament to the enduring friendship between two Chinese women instead plays like a bewildering apologia for co-dependency issues."(See all of Justin Chang's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 870 words, 07/13/11
Kirk Honeycutt, Hollywood Reporter: EXCELLENT "...enters the world of women with complete openness to its sensory sights and sounds, its codes of behavior, secrets of the heart... one of Wayne Wang's best..."(See all of Kirk Honeycutt's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 990 words, 07/13/11
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: WEAK "Wayne Wang has weighted down the big-screen version of the novel with a couple of 21st century Sex in Shanghai-styled BFFs who've had a nasty falling-out."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 610 words, 07/15/11
Emanuel Levy, Cinema 24/7: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...a dense but shapeless film, which has many good moments, but lacks overall emotional impact and the kind of wry, incisive portraits that define Wang's best work."(See all of Emanuel Levy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 452 words, 07/14/11
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: POOR "At once preposterously genteel and sadistic... so pointlessly disjointed that it's hard not to wonder if several competing adaptations have been crammed into one movie."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 730 words, 07/15/11
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: WEAK "While the action flashes back and forth in time, we're adrift in the here and now, trying to get a grip on the characters and their relationships..."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 259 words, 07/15/11
16.8 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
Snow Flower And The Secret Fan's reviews are separated by an average 16.8 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.
Snow Flower And The Secret Fan (38 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:Snow Flower And The Secret Fan's reviews cover 53.1% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 18,443 words involume (average is 20,172 words). Length:The film's reviews average 485 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Snow Flower And The Secret Fan Coverage, Volume & Length (38 Reviews, reviews below)
Reviews Broke 46.9 Hours After Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
Snow Flower And The Secret Fan's reviews on average broke 46.9 hours after 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 Snow Flower And The Secret Fan's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
Snow Flower And The Secret Fan (38 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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