64
Metascore
20 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 88Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertThe movie does indeed feature much footage of MacPherson and her sister sirens in the nude, but it is smarter, more thoughtful and more good-tempered than you might expect.
- 80VarietyDavid StrattonVarietyDavid StrattonA deliciously sexy and hedonistic comedy of morals and manners, filmed amid some of Australia's most spectacular scenery. The blend of eroticism and humor, plus the formidable presence of supermodel Elle Macpherson, who is seen regularly in the buff in her featured role as an artist's model, will ensure wide interest in this engaging yarn from writer/director John Duigan.
- 75TV Guide MagazineTV Guide MagazineSIRENS is a rare, genuinely erotic film that's a pleasure to watch even when its characters are fully clothed.
- 70Chicago ReaderJonathan RosenbaumChicago ReaderJonathan RosenbaumThe charm, humor, and healthy eroticism of Australian writer-director John Duigan (The Year My Voice Broke, Flirting) are back in force in this pleasantly recounted tale, set in the 30s, about a newlywed Anglican clergyman and his wife, freshly played by Hugh Grant and Tara Fitzgerald, who stop off at the remote home of a controversial (i.e., erotic) painter (Sam Neill).
- 67Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanEntertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanIt’s a measure of the film’s middlebrow kitschiness that its centerpiece sequence turns out to be a tasteful soft-core version of the lesbian ravishment of Marilyn Chambers in "Behind the Green Door."
- 63ReelViewsJames BerardinelliReelViewsJames BerardinelliAs a vehicle for examining the conflict between religion and artistic freedom, Sirens is shallow, and scenes concentrating on this issue dampen some of the lighthearted fun. Sometimes, it's better not to try for too much substance with such an earthy basic premise.
- 60The New York TimesJanet MaslinThe New York TimesJanet MaslinSirens is best watched as a soft-core, high-minded daydream about the liberating sensuality of art. Its bubble tends to burst whenever the nymphs are asked to make clever dinner-table conversation, but the mood is nicely lulling anyhow.
- 60EmpireEmpireSirens is a harmless, occasionally intriguing, confection offering just that bit more than an eyeful of Elle in the buff.
- 60Time OutTime OutHeadily atmospheric, Duigan's film takes place in an outback of 'perpetual tumescence'. It's all very DH Lawrence, and consequently a mite predictable. The picture's strongest suit is Duigan's deft, witty touch, and the confident, classy playing (Grant's familiar stuttering Englishman notwithstanding). Duigan seems to lose his sense of irony entirely, however, when it comes to celebrating the standard soft-core coupling.
- 40Los Angeles TimesPeter RainerLos Angeles TimesPeter RainerGiven the flimsiness of the material, why settle for D. H. Lawrence when you can have the Playboy Channel instead?