Dear Reader: Update, Movie Review Intelligence will
continue publishing this website through June (more...)
Search a Movie:
THE INTOUCHABLESMovie Reviews
French language comedy about the surprising bond between a wealthy, physically disabled nobleman and the young Muslim ex-con he hires as his caretaker. Cast:Francois Cluzet, Omar Sy, Anne Le Ny, Audrey Fleurot, Clothilde Mollet, Alba Gaia Bellugi, Cyril Mendy, Christian Ameri, Marie-Laure Descoureaux, Gregoire Oestermann, Jean-Francois CayreyDirector:Eric Toledano, Olivier NakacheRelease Date:May 25, 2012DVD Release:January 15, 2013From:The Weinstein CompanyRating:RLength:1 hr 52 min
JANUARY 15, 2013
The Intouchables, Good (Not Great) Reviews, Mixed Key Cities
The Intouchables played in key cities to good not great reviews. Reviews were mixed. • Joe Morgenstern wrote in the Wall Street Journal, "...hugely likable... fulfills its feel-good promise, as long as it's seen as the fairy tale it was meant to be..." • And Alynda Wheat wrote in People, "...racially ignorant — and terribly charming.... That second bit isn't a compliment." More Reviews Below...
The Intouchables Positive Reviews (42 Reviews, reviews below)
Alynda Wheat, People: POOR(cg) "...racially ignorant -- and terribly charming.... That second bit isn't a compliment.... the film wants to comfort us with pat solutions to deep societal fractures."(See all of Alynda Wheat's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 143 words, 05/24/12
Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: GOOD(cg) "...hermetically warm and empathetic... it's likely to push the cringe buttons of local moviegoers in Obama's post-'The Green Mile America.' "(See all of Lisa Schwarzbaum's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 223 words, 05/25/12
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...a tasty bonbon spiked with mirth but light on malice. Crude? Maybe. Insensitive? You bet.... Acting this good forgives a lot of sins."(See all of Peter Travers's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 197 words, 05/25/12
Claudia Puig, USA Today: VERY GOOD(cg) "...exuberantly charming... This is not weighty French cinema. But if a lightweight comedy happens to spark an open debate about race, that's a hefty accomplishment."(See all of Claudia Puig's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 469 words, 05/25/12
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "This is a story that has been told time and again in the movies, and sometimes the performances overcome the condescension of the formula."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 608 words, 06/01/12
Kat Murphy, MSN Movies: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...you can almost forgive 'The Intouchables' ' breezy racial stereotyping, cheap comedy and phony-baloney attitudes toward art, culture, class, and quadriplegia. Almost."(See all of Kat Murphy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 659 words, 05/21/12
James Berardinelli, Reel Views: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...a very good film - uplifting, funny, heartwarming... cleverly uses the structure of a romantic comedy to frame the (platonic) friendship between two very different men."(See all of James Berardinelli's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 772 words, 05/23/12
we have an app for when you're out and about
get our iPhone app... or get our mobile web app...
movie review intelligence
NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (12 Reviews)
A.O. Scott, New York Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...ingratiating... It is possible to summarize the experience of watching 'The Intouchables' in nine words: You will laugh; you will cry; you will cringe."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 910 words, 05/25/12
Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: EXCELLENT(cg) "...quick and breezy. It may share a lineage more with 'Scent of a Woman' than 'The Sea Inside,' but it's irreverent and honest."(See all of Joe Neumaier's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 388 words, 05/25/12
Sheri Linden, Los Angeles Times/Chicago Tribune: GOOD "...sentimental feel-good... programmed to stimulate funny bones and tear ducts in a reassuring alternating pattern... little in the movie feels true or really matters."(See all of Sheri Linden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 539 words, 05/25/12
Farran Smith Nehme, New York Post: MODERATE(cg) "...arrives trailing allegations of racism.... essentially good-natured... a massive hit in France... more likely to strike American audiences as trite than offensive..."(See all of Farran Smith Nehme's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 236 words, 05/25/12
John Anderson, New York Newsday: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...uses race humor to defuse anxieties surrounding race issues. Pardon moi, but that's asking a lot, even of a post-racial society."(See all of John Anderson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 330 words, 07/27/12
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "This is a story that has been told time and again in the movies, and sometimes the performances overcome the condescension of the formula."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 608 words, 06/01/12
Nick Pinkerton, Village Voice/LA Weekly: WEAK "The leads' charisma goes some small way toward softening the script's cudgeling sentimentality, but the overall effect is a drubbing all the same."(See all of Nick Pinkerton's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 201 words, 05/23/12
Peter Howell, Toronto Star: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...has all the expected hijinks of odd-couple films immemorial.... the performances sell themselves by virtue of their simple humanity."(See all of Peter Howell's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 599 words, 06/01/12
Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...a well-acted, charming buddy picture.... based on a true story, but it's been filtered through a certain crowd-pleasing, triumph-of-the-spirit sensibility..."(See all of Norman Wilner's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 222 words, 05/31/12
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "It's the classic odd-couple buddy movie setup, only it'll pull at your heartstrings, whether you want it too or not. And you won't want it to, because it's sap."(See all of Steven Rea's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 348 words, 06/01/12
Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: VERY GOOD(cg) "...there's a real give-and-take between Sy and Cluzet, two performances that make the film, despite its shortcomings, well worth seeking out."(See all of Bill Goodykoontz's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 679 words, 06/01/12
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: MODERATE(cg) "America has a racial-guilt problem. France's might be more insidious... We're supposed to appreciate the mixing of culture. But this tired little movie got on my last nerve."(See all of Wesley Morris's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 640 words, 06/01/12
Stephen Whitty, New Jersey Star-Ledger: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...it's in the time-honored tradition of the feel-bad/feel-good story, in which someone else's horrible situation teaches us life lessons about regretting nothing."(See all of Stephen Whitty's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 518 words, 05/25/12
Marc Mohan, Portland Oregonian: FAIR(cg) "Though well-crafted and ably acted, it's a festival of platitudes ranging from the forgettably innocuous to the borderline offensive."(See all of Marc Mohan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 208 words, 06/01/12
Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: VERY GOOD(cg) "Much of the credit goes to the very likable Omar Sy, who won the French equivalent of the Academy Award for best actor. His oversize personality dominates the movie..."(See all of Joe Williams's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 364 words, 06/01/12
Tom Long, Detroit News: VERY GOOD(cg) "...while there is some uneasy condescension and racial stereotyping going on here, it's not enough to seriously mar the sweet spirit of the film..."(See all of Tom Long's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 276 words, 06/01/12
Roger Moore, Miami Herald: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...amusing, touching and intensely likable... that rare French import that aims no higher than adorable and hits its target every time."(See all of Roger Moore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 504 words, 06/01/12
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (8 Reviews)
Nick Pinkerton, Village Voice/LA Weekly: WEAK "The leads' charisma goes some small way toward softening the script's cudgeling sentimentality, but the overall effect is a drubbing all the same."(See all of Nick Pinkerton's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 201 words, 05/23/12
Ann Lewinson, Boston Phoenix: OUTSTANDING(cg) "French comedies rarely travel well, but... 'The Intouchables' manages to be feel-good (thanks to music from Earth, Wind and Fire) and clear-eyed."(See all of Ann Lewinson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 157 words, 05/31/12
Sam Adams, AV Club: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...shamelessly lifts huge chunks from formulaic Hollywood tales of mutual uplift... turns out even moldy leftovers go down more smoothly with Béarnaise sauce."(See all of Sam Adams's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 410 words, 05/24/12
Stephanie Zacharek, Movieline: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...isn't bad -- its merely shameless, but at least it's overtly so.... Omar Sy's performance almost makes you forget how calculated the whole thing is."(See all of Stephanie Zacharek's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 847 words, 05/24/12
Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...a well-acted, charming buddy picture.... based on a true story, but it's been filtered through a certain crowd-pleasing, triumph-of-the-spirit sensibility..."(See all of Norman Wilner's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 222 words, 05/31/12
HIGHBROW PRESS (6 Reviews)
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: VERY GOOD "...hugely likable... fulfills its feel-good promise, as long as it's seen as the fairy tale it was meant to be... uses humanity and humor to defuse the anxieties of contemporary life."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 670 words, 05/25/12
A.O. Scott, New York Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...ingratiating... It is possible to summarize the experience of watching 'The Intouchables' in nine words: You will laugh; you will cry; you will cringe."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 910 words, 05/25/12
David Denby, New Yorker: POOR "...disastrously condescending.... Omar Sy jumps all over the place, and he's blunt and grating... It's an admirable performance, but the movie is an embarrassment."(See all of David Denby's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 729 words, 05/21/12
Mark Jenkins, NPR: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...while patronizing, the movie is frisky and mostly likable. But its amiability depends on airbrushing potential sources of misunderstanding, both cultural and political."(See all of Mark Jenkins's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 592 words, 05/24/12
Sheri Linden, Los Angeles Times: GOOD "...sentimental feel-good... programmed to stimulate funny bones and tear ducts in a reassuring alternating pattern... little in the movie feels true or really matters."(See all of Sheri Linden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 539 words, 05/25/12
Andrew O'Hehir, Salon: GOOD "...lively if largely predictable... I enjoyed 'The Intouchables' quite a bit.... it's something like a mid-'80s Eddie Murphy comedy dressed up with classy Parisian settings..."(See all of Andrew O'Hehir's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,420 words, 05/22/12
Neil Young, Hollywood Reporter: FAIR "...chock full of hard-knock life lessons that owe much more to the conventions of the screen than the tough realities of social deprivation and of the severely handicapped."(See all of Neil Young's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 624 words, 09/26/11
Sheri Linden, Los Angeles Times: GOOD "...sentimental feel-good... programmed to stimulate funny bones and tear ducts in a reassuring alternating pattern... little in the movie feels true or really matters."(See all of Sheri Linden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 539 words, 05/25/12
A.O. Scott, New York Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...ingratiating... It is possible to summarize the experience of watching 'The Intouchables' in nine words: You will laugh; you will cry; you will cringe."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 910 words, 05/25/12
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: VERY GOOD "...hugely likable... fulfills its feel-good promise, as long as it's seen as the fairy tale it was meant to be... uses humanity and humor to defuse the anxieties of contemporary life."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 670 words, 05/25/12
20.8 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
The Intouchables's reviews are separated by an average 20.8 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.
The Intouchables (42 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:The Intouchables's reviews cover 93.6% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 21,458 words involume (average is 20,194 words). Length:The film's reviews average 511 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
The Intouchables Coverage, Volume & Length (42 Reviews, reviews below)
Reviews Broke 26.7 Hours Before Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
The Intouchables's reviews on average broke 26.7 hours 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 The Intouchables's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
The Intouchables (42 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
Mobile Web App version 1.2 shows a list of all current movies and review information. You can click through to the cast, director, synopsis, release date and rating on page two, plus individual reviews on page three. The information is updated on a live/real-time basis. You can also search our database of films. Designed for when you're on the move and want the latest info, this app will work on any mobile web browser. From your mobile device -- only from a mobile device -- open our Mobile Web App here...
