71
Metascore
40 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 88ReelViewsJames BerardinelliReelViewsJames BerardinelliTakes the traditional romantic comedy and tweaks it by way of "The War of the Roses." Rarely has strife between the sexes been so ruthless, so civilized, and so funny.
- 80Village VoiceMichael AtkinsonVillage VoiceMichael AtkinsonZeta-Jones is merely ravishing, but Clooney owns the film. Ordinarily best at sardonic, man's-man confidence, he strides through Intolerable Cruelty with fantastic screwball zest. To see Clooney tenderize, season, grill, and serve this ham hock of a role is to see an old-fashioned virtuoso in perpetual motion.
- 80Film ThreatFilm ThreatProbably the Coen’s funniest movie since “Raising Arizona.”
- 75Rolling StonePeter TraversRolling StonePeter TraversNear the end of this smart, speedy romantic farce, the comic engine hits a wall and sputters. Until then, this Coen brothers film -- easily their silliest -- is fueled by a screwball fizz that keeps the laughs popping.
- 75Charlotte ObserverLawrence ToppmanCharlotte ObserverLawrence ToppmanThe results have the Coens' usual tartness most of the way, before turning soft and gooey at the center.
- 70VarietyDavid RooneyVarietyDavid RooneyA thoroughly entertaining comedy about love, lawyers and fat divorce settlements. While a slight imbalance in the romantic formula stops it just short of truly soaring, the crackling dialogue and buoyant wordplay make this a delightful throwback to classic screwball comedies.
- 70Dallas ObserverRobert WilonskyDallas ObserverRobert WilonskyThe first half of Intolerable Cruelty is more than tolerable; it's a dopey kick full of goofy jokes tossed off so quickly you're reminded less of bickering-bantering Grant and Rosalind Russell than Groucho and Chico Marx.
- 50The Hollywood ReporterThe Hollywood ReporterThe Coen brothers had a golden opportunity to make a darkly humorous, deliciously clever battle of the sexes, and they let it slip through their fingers. Instead, the duo... settled for a broad farce that is long on manic, cartoonish behavior and short on intelligence and wit.
- 50Entertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumEntertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumWith Intolerable Cruelty, though, something scares me: I cannot detect a heartbeat of feeling, no matter how close I press a stethoscope against the star machinery of George Clooney and Catherine Zeta-Jones.
- 50L.A. WeeklyScott FoundasL.A. WeeklyScott FoundasIntolerable Cruelty seems the kind of movie that results from two essentially erudite, anarchic talents playing down to the masses.