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TOAST (2011)Movie Reviews
Comedy drama about a boy who grows up loving food and cooking, which becomes a way to win the affections of his distant father. Cast:Helena Bonham Carter, Freddie Highmore, Ken Stott, Victoria HamiltonDirector:S.J. ClarksonRelease Date:September 23, 2011DVD Release:December 19, 2011From:Screen GemsLength:1 hr 31 min
Toast (2011) played in key cities to good not great reviews. • Tom Long wrote in the Detroit News, "...blessed with a soundtrack of Dusty Springfield songs... nevertheless doesn't go down quite as smoothly as it should." • And Elizabeth Weitzman wrote in the New York Daily News, "...the story of food writer Nigel Slater, and it's as tartly satisfying as the tangiest lemon meringue pie." More Reviews Below...
Toast (2011) has not been reviewed by Broad National Press
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (6 Reviews)
Stephen Holden, New York Times: GOOD "...entertaining... It might be described as a lighthearted theme and variation on the adage that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach."(See all of Stephen Holden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 687 words, 09/23/11
Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...glorious meals can arise from the most inadequate settings. That's the story of food writer Nigel Slater, and it's as tartly satisfying as the tangiest lemon meringue pie."(See all of Elizabeth Weitzman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 155 words, 09/23/11
Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times: VERY GOOD "It's lively, tender and evocative stuff, featuring a stirring, well-placed collection of Dusty Springfield songs. Don't miss it."(See all of Gary Goldstein's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 231 words, 10/07/11
Nick Pinkerton, Village Voice/LA Weekly: WEAK "...shows pity and bemusement for the people raising Nigel Slater but rarely human interest in them. More damning still, even the food looks ugly."(See all of Nick Pinkerton's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 200 words, 09/21/11
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star-Tribune: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Who but the English could give us the naughty sequence of Slater senior becoming aroused by Miss Potter's dexterity with the vacuum cleaner? Crikey!"(See all of Colin Covert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 153 words, 10/14/11
Ty Burr, Boston Globe: WEAK(cg) "With some movies, it's easy to point to the one element that throws the whole thing out of whack. In 'Toast,' that would be the music - a glutinously 'sensitive' wash..."(See all of Ty Burr's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 584 words, 10/14/11
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: POOR(cg) "In this story of Nigel Slater's early life, he emerges as a miserable excuse for a human being... it would seem that the filmmakers don't quite realize that."(See all of Mick LaSalle's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 351 words, 10/14/11
Tom Keogh, Seattle Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "...has three things deserving of adoration: spectacular lemon-meringue pies, the songs of Dusty Springfield and Helena Bonham Carter."(See all of Tom Keogh's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 263 words, 10/21/11
Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...lovely to look at, evoking both the gray-green milieu of Midlands life and the sensuality of good food, but it's like a whipped topping with no base."(See all of Joe Williams's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 337 words, 10/21/11
Nick Pinkerton, Village Voice/LA Weekly: WEAK "...shows pity and bemusement for the people raising Nigel Slater but rarely human interest in them. More damning still, even the food looks ugly."(See all of Nick Pinkerton's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 200 words, 09/21/11
Betsy Sherman, Boston Phoenix: VERY GOOD(cg) "...a refreshing take on the sub-genre of the food-centric comedy.... S.J. Clarkson gives it a cozy intimacy, rich with period detail that includes Dusty Springfield..."(See all of Betsy Sherman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 163 words, 10/13/11
Andrew Schenker, Slant: MODERATE(cg) "Attempts at gross-out/sexual humor fall flat and the film occasionally feels too cute by half... 'Toast' is agreeable enough without being in any way challenging."(See all of Andrew Schenker's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 468 words, 09/18/11
HIGHBROW PRESS (2 Reviews)
Stephen Holden, New York Times: GOOD "...entertaining... It might be described as a lighthearted theme and variation on the adage that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach."(See all of Stephen Holden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 687 words, 09/23/11
Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times: VERY GOOD "It's lively, tender and evocative stuff, featuring a stirring, well-placed collection of Dusty Springfield songs. Don't miss it."(See all of Gary Goldstein's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 231 words, 10/07/11
MOVIE INDUSTRY (3 Reviews)
Leslie Felperin, Daily Variety: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...tasty, hearty and rather conventional.... SJ Clarkson attempts to bustle auds away from the script's potential problems by keeping the tone largely light and cheery..."(See all of Leslie Felperin's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 706 words, 02/18/11
Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times: VERY GOOD "It's lively, tender and evocative stuff, featuring a stirring, well-placed collection of Dusty Springfield songs. Don't miss it."(See all of Gary Goldstein's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 231 words, 10/07/11
Stephen Holden, New York Times: GOOD "...entertaining... It might be described as a lighthearted theme and variation on the adage that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach."(See all of Stephen Holden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 687 words, 09/23/11
18.6 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
Toast (2011)'s reviews are separated by an average 18.6 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.
Toast (2011) (16 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:Toast (2011)'s reviews cover 15.5% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 5,431 words involume (average is 20,194 words). Length:The film's reviews average 339 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Reviews Broke 11.2 Hours Before Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
Toast (2011)'s reviews on average broke 11.2 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 Toast (2011)'s opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
Toast (2011) (16 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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