81
Metascore
22 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100TimeRichard SchickelTimeRichard SchickelIt is, finally, as a richly pulsating, hugely entertaining human comedy -- antic, wayward, glancing -- that Short Cuts bemuses, amuses and finally entrances us. [4 Oct 1993]
- 100USA TodayMike ClarkUSA TodayMike ClarkThis definitive "life goes on" movie does what Altman does best: juggle 22 characters, deftly switch moods, and offer a comlex warts-and-all characters whose lives seem to extend beyond the screen. Few movies attempt this; Fewer succeed. [1 Oct 1993]
- 100Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertLos Angeles always seems to be waiting for something. Permanence seems out of reach; some great apocalyptic event is on the horizon, and people view the future tentatively. Robert Altman's Short Cuts captures that uneasiness perfectly.
- 100The New York TimesVincent CanbyThe New York TimesVincent CanbyIt raises the spirits not by phony sentimentality but by the amplitude of its art. From time to time, it is also roaringly funny... A terrific movie. [1 Oct 1993, p.C1]
- 90VarietyTodd McCarthyVarietyTodd McCarthyExploding Raymond Carver's spare stories and minimally drawn characters onto the screen with startling imagination, Robert Altman has made his most complex and full-bodied human comedy since "Nashville."
- Carver's stories are obviously inspiring for Altman, and that's the point, this movie is bursting at the seams with ideas and energy.
- 88ReelViewsJames BerardinelliReelViewsJames BerardinelliIt's a genuine pleasure to find a movie with such a deep and intelligent portrayal of simple human lives, with all their minor triumphs and tragedies.
- 80Film.comJohn HartlFilm.comJohn HartlAltman lucked out when he cast a singer, Ronee Blakley, in a major role in "Nashville," but he has not been as fortunate here with Annie Ross and Lyle Lovett, who lack Blakley's soulful dramatic presence.
- 67Christian Science MonitorDavid SterrittChristian Science MonitorDavid SterrittA daring but flawed achievement, diluting its emotional power and satirical bite with a self-consciously jagged structure, and a calculating, sometimes chilly untertone. [1 Oct 1993]
- 50The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick GroenThe Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick GroenAltman shakes the camera like a two-bit horror director, and it seems a different sort of signature - less masterful than weary, less signed than resigned. Zero-sum, indeed.