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TINY FURNITUREMovie Reviews
Comedy drama about a rudderless young woman who returns to live in her childhood home, a loft in downtown Manhattan which she shares with her mother and younger sister, after graduating from college. Cast:Lena Dunham, Laurie Simmons, Grace Dunham, David Call, Alex KarpovskyDirector:Lena DunhamRelease Date:November 12, 2010DVD Release:April 1, 2011From:IFCLength:1 hr. 38 min.
Tiny Furniture played in key cities to very good reviews. • Peter Travers wrote in Rolling Stone, "An original new voice in film is something rare and worthy of celebration. So let’s toast Lena Dunham, the gifted writer-director-star of 'Tiny Furniture'..." • And Tom Long wrote in the Detroit News, "Artful, smart, funny, sad and in its own small way dazzling... There is talent here. There is ambition. And there is hope." More Reviews Below...
Jake Coyle, Associated Press: VERY GOOD(cg) "...an exciting debut... This is a world not too distant from that of a Whit Stillman film or Wes Anderson's 'The Royal Tenenbaums'.... has the feel of a '90s indie..."(See all of Jake Coyle's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 691 words, 11/11/10
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: VERY GOOD(cg) "An original new voice in film is something rare and worthy of celebration. So let's toast Lena Dunham, the gifted writer-director-star of 'Tiny Furniture'..."(See all of Peter Travers's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 501 words, 11/11/10
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "Why do I feel such affection for 'Tiny Furniture'? It's a well-crafted film, for one thing. For a first picture, it shows a command of style and purpose..."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 787 words, 12/09/10
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (9 Reviews)
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: GOOD "...at times more pleasurable to think about than it is to watch, more of a conceptual coup than an enjoyable experience.... Lena Dunham has gotten at something real."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,042 words, 11/12/10
Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: VERY GOOD(cg) "As awkwardly endearing as its heroine... should charm anyone who remembers the painful fall from inspired student to befuddled post-grad."(See all of Elizabeth Weitzman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 137 words, 11/12/10
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: VERY GOOD "...a bare mumble of mumblecore musings... What the film does well is capture the confusion of the identity abyss of twenty-somethings of a certain social class."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 623 words, 11/26/10
V.A. Musetto, New York Post: OUTSTANDING(cg) "The actors, mostly nonprofessionals, deliver their lines with understated charm, the pacing is just right and Jody Lee Lipes' cinematography is clear and concise."(See all of V.A. Musetto's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 381 words, 11/12/10
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...a find -- funny and rueful and verbally dexterous, leavening a quippy screenplay with just enough honesty to make it stick.... full, assured and extremely wry."(See all of Michael Phillips's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 473 words, 12/10/10
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "Why do I feel such affection for 'Tiny Furniture'? It's a well-crafted film, for one thing. For a first picture, it shows a command of style and purpose..."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 787 words, 12/09/10
J. Hoberman, Village Voice/LA Weekly: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...gets its kick not only for evoking a world of unromantic hookups, casual BJs, and iPhone porn, but for satirizing New York's bourgeois bohemia."(See all of J. Hoberman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 726 words, 11/10/10
KEY CITIES (12 Reviews)
Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: VERY GOOD(cg) "...a film of modest scope but deceptively big ideas. What's more, it announces a promising talent in Dunham, a filmmaker possessed of a refreshingly skeptical voice..."(See all of Ann Hornaday's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 510 words, 12/03/10
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: OUTSTANDING(cg) "There's a fierce, self-lacerating wit on display... as big and bold as the production is modest and (literally) homemade."(See all of Steven Rea's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 460 words, 12/17/10
Peter Hartlaub, Houston Chronicle/San Francisco Chronicle: VERY GOOD(cg) "...will probably be a polarizing film, with audience members walking out on it and declaring it a masterpiece in approximately equal numbers."(See all of Peter Hartlaub's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 482 words, 01/07/11
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...a good looking, smart-mouthed comedy... but the film runs out of gas by about the third time Dunham confesses to her increasingly irate mom, 'I'm figuring it out.' "(See all of Roger Moore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 699 words, 01/23/11
Claude Peck, Minneapolis Star-Tribune: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Just when you think 'Tiny Furniture' is of the nothing-happens school of indie-filmdom, something more dramatic happens.... there's a lemony streak of touching sincerity..."(See all of Claude Peck's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 387 words, 01/28/11
Ty Burr, Boston Globe: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...many of us have been here -- that first flush of post-college terror, remember? -- Dunham makes it funny and involving before entropy kicks in at the two-thirds mark."(See all of Ty Burr's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 619 words, 12/10/10
Clint O'Connor, Cleveland Plain-Dealer: EXCELLENT(cg) "...a thoroughly modern twist on the recent graduate dilemma... thanks to Dunham's clever writing and the uber-casual approach of her collection of characters."(See all of Clint O'Connor's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 400 words, 01/07/11
Moira Macdonald, Seattle Times: MODERATE(cg) "...sounds fairly dull, and often it is, filmed in long, static shots that don't add any interest.... isn't really a movie, not yet, but it might be a beginning."(See all of Moira Macdonald's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 398 words, 12/24/10
Shawn Levy, Portland Oregonian: VERY GOOD(cg) "...a marvel: a full-bodied, gorgeously crafted story of post-collegiate listlessness... there's undeniable talent and even audacity in it..."(See all of Shawn Levy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 261 words, 12/31/10
Tom Long, Detroit News: EXCELLENT(cg) "Artful, smart, funny, sad and in its own small way dazzling... There is talent here. There is ambition. And there is hope."(See all of Tom Long's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 300 words, 12/17/10
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (7 Reviews)
J. Hoberman, Village Voice/LA Weekly: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...gets its kick not only for evoking a world of unromantic hookups, casual BJs, and iPhone porn, but for satirizing New York's bourgeois bohemia."(See all of J. Hoberman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 726 words, 11/10/10
Katey Rich, Cinema Blend: VERY GOOD(cg) "...isn't essential filmmaking -- more like a calling card for a director with years of promising work ahead of her -- but it's surprisingly insightful and funny..."(See all of Katey Rich's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 662 words, 11/18/10
Brett Michel, Boston Phoenix: VERY GOOD(cg) "...a portrait of post-graduate haze... It may sound hopelessly autobiographical, but Dunham has made an accomplished movie. She's one to watch."(See all of Brett Michel's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 150 words, 12/09/10
Noel Murray, AV Club: GOOD(cg) "...a rare movie that's actually about modern life... plays like pages ripped at random from a smart screenwriter's notebook, then reproduced verbatim..."(See all of Noel Murray's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 335 words, 11/12/10
Andrew Schenker, Slant: WEAK(cg) "...writer-director Lena Dunham attempts to tap into the cultural moment by centering her film on an up-to-the-minute situation... feels dispiritingly self-absorbed."(See all of Andrew Schenker's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 694 words, 11/07/10
Curt Holman, Atlanta Creative Loafing: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...proves to be a rickety fabrication even as it marks an impressive debut of a clever filmmaker in her early 20s."(See all of Curt Holman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 651 words, 12/01/10
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: OUTSTANDING "Once in a great while a debut feature leaves you blinking in amazement at the bountiful talent.... teems with deft observations and vivid characters."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 454 words, 11/26/10
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: GOOD "...at times more pleasurable to think about than it is to watch, more of a conceptual coup than an enjoyable experience.... Lena Dunham has gotten at something real."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,042 words, 11/12/10
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: VERY GOOD "...a bare mumble of mumblecore musings... What the film does well is capture the confusion of the identity abyss of twenty-somethings of a certain social class."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 623 words, 11/26/10
Dana Stevens, Slate: GOOD "For a DIY second feature from a very young director, feels surprisingly assured, even elegant.... I appreciated the way this movie kept upending my expectations."(See all of Dana Stevens's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 906 words, 11/12/10
Joe Leydon, Daily Variety: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...often feels like a semi-autographical effort by a filmmaker trying to work out issues in her art that she's still confronting in life.... There's a homemovie quality to the pic..."(See all of Joe Leydon's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 709 words, 03/24/10
Kirk Honeycutt, Hollywood Reporter: WEAK "...like sitting in on someone else's therapy sessions -- too much information about someone you don't know, and the more you learn, the less you want to."(See all of Kirk Honeycutt's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 693 words, 11/09/10
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: VERY GOOD "...a bare mumble of mumblecore musings... What the film does well is capture the confusion of the identity abyss of twenty-somethings of a certain social class."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 623 words, 11/26/10
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: GOOD "...at times more pleasurable to think about than it is to watch, more of a conceptual coup than an enjoyable experience.... Lena Dunham has gotten at something real."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,042 words, 11/12/10
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: OUTSTANDING "Once in a great while a debut feature leaves you blinking in amazement at the bountiful talent.... teems with deft observations and vivid characters."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 454 words, 11/26/10
16.8 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
Tiny Furniture'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.
Tiny Furniture (36 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:Tiny Furniture's reviews cover 54.5% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 19,535 words involume (average is 20,172 words). Length:The film's reviews average 543 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Reviews Broke 9 Days After Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
Tiny Furniture's reviews on average broke 9 days 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 Tiny Furniture's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
Tiny Furniture (36 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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