Critic consensus:An enjoyable farce that relocates Jean Renoir's Boudu Saved From Drowning to '80s California, offering fine comedic performances from Nick Nolte, Richard Dreyfuss and Bette Midler.

Numbered reviews:1. Richard Dreyfuss in top form.
2. Paul Mazursky hasn't only remade Jean Renoir's sublime 1931 Boudu Saved From Drowning: he's yuppified it, inverting virtually every meaning until the film becomes a celebration of the crassest kind of materialism.
3. Let me just say that Down and Out in Beverly Hills made me laugh longer and louder than any film I've seen in a long time.
4. As a comedy of manners it has a dependably keen aim, with its most wicked barbs leavened by Mr. Mazursky's obvious fondness for his characters.
5. One of Mazursky's few completely successful films.
6. An uneven satire with some wit, but sometimes too strident.
7. A sparkling social commentary that doesn't skimp on the laughs.
8. Filled with hilarious incidents and clever one-liners.
9. Silly but fun, and a big box-office earner.
10. Although it is more of a comedy of manners than a well-developed story, there are enough yocks and bright moments to make it a thoroughly enjoyable outing.


Critic consensus:Despite a terrific soundtrack and a strong early performance from Renee Zellweger, Empire Records is mostly a silly and predictable teen dramedy.

Numbered reviews:1. Empire Records is little more than a poor man's Clerks, but an entertaining one.
2. The Empire Strikes Out . . . lame Gen-X "comedy" that falls completely flat . . . Go rent CLERKS
3. ...things just move quickly from one person's conflicts to another, with little momentum or feeling of satisfaction.
4. Overall, fatally ersatz but good natured at heart.
5. [Leaves the] impression of artificiality.
6. Leaves you with the sensation of having chewed a piece of bubblegum until well after its flavour ran dry.
7. A soundtrack in search of a movie, Empire Records is one teen-music effort that never finds a groove.
8. Insubstantial, predictable and often dull.
9. Lovably sloppy.
10. One of the hippest and most enjoyable movies of the 90s. This ROCKS!


Critic consensus:When the novelty of the CGI Garfield wears off, what's left is a simplistic kiddie movie.

Numbered reviews:
1. ... a film without energy and without spirit.
2. Stinkier than a litter box in a multi-cat household.
3. The worst thing about a movie like Garfield is that it's not Cat in the Hat bad, but is just the sort of indifferent creation that qualifies as 'cute.'
4. I recommend it as a family film that kids will enjoy and adults will find unexpectedly pleasant.
5. I know, I know, I'm really on the warpath about CGI creations lately.
6. All co-star Jennifer Love Hewitt is asked to do as a veterinarian is to stroll around in short skirts, though she does it very well.
7. No one can accuse Garfield: The Movie of infidelity to its source: It faithfully conveys the banality of Jim Davis's cartoon.
8. In the comics, Garfield is one fat and lazy cat. Unfortunately, so is his cat-astrophic live-action screen debut.
9. Not even worth a rental.
10. Garfield stinks like a dead cat.