39
Metascore
20 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 70Chicago ReaderJonathan RosenbaumChicago ReaderJonathan RosenbaumA corny but sincere weeper written by Jonathan Marc Feldman, directed by Thomas Carter, and shot mainly in Prague.
- 67Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanEntertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanThe movie is a somber, smoothly crafted drama about a wily adolescent who senses there's something rotten going on in his country but can't quite put a finger on it.
- 63TV Guide MagazineTV Guide MagazineDespite energetic dance sequences and appealing leads, the film falls prey to pat psychologizing and some stunningly puerile notions of history.
- 60EmpireEmpireFor its historical detail and recognition that teenagers were around long before James Dean sparked up a Marlboro, this film deserves some credit.
- 50Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenAustin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenThe script is all too often downright clunky though it's saved by vigorous direction (especially in the dance sequences) and performances.
- 50Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerChristian Science MonitorPeter RainerThis well-meaning drama was made with obvious passion.
- 50ReelViewsJames BerardinelliReelViewsJames BerardinelliSwing Kids has a multitude of problems, the most glaring of which is its loose treatment of history and the Nazis.
- 50The New York TimesJanet MaslinThe New York TimesJanet MaslinSwing Kids looks good and moves quickly at first; later on, mired in familiar-feeling moments, it flounders
- 25Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertThe screenplay is so murky, indeed, that I was never sure whether the Kids hated the Hitler Youth lads because they were Nazis, or simply because they didn't swing.
- 20VarietyLeonard KladyVarietyLeonard KladyApart from its appealing young cast and period score, it has precious little to entice audiences into movie theaters.