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Movies / On DVD / Smile
Smile

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Smile (2005)

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Reviews Counted:13

Fresh:2

Rotten:11

Average Rating:4/10

Runtime: 1 hr 47 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: Exploring the differences in growing up halfway across the world, SMILE is a wholesome and positive look at two divergent cultures and the experiences of young adults in those worlds. In... Exploring the differences in growing up halfway across the world, SMILE is a wholesome and positive look at two divergent cultures and the experiences of young adults in those worlds. In California, Katie (Mika Boorem) is born into a world of wealth and privilege, growing up in a society where her primary concern is her relationship with her boyfriend. Meanwhile, on the very same day, as Ling (Yi Ding) is born in China with a facial deformity, the scales are already weighed against her. Abandoned by her birth parents, Ling grows up in a world of hard work and little chance for escape. When Katie volunteers for a medical program abroad, she comes face to face with Ling and the difficulties she faces, and both girls learn life-affirming lessons about the differences and similarities between them and their cultures. SMILE also features Sean Astin, Cheri Oteri, Linda Hamilton, and more famous faces in supporting roles. [More]

Starring: Jeffrey Kramer, Sean Astin, Mika Boorem, Beau Bridges

Starring: Jeffrey Kramer, Sean Astin, Mika Boorem, Beau Bridges, Linda Hamilton, Cheri Oteri, Yi Ding, Essie Shure, Jia Song, Jonathon Trent, Erik von Detten, Luoyong Wang


Studio: Dark Forest Releasing

[See More Credits]

Reviews for Smile

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1 - 13 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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Sure, it's mushy, but you can't make a movie called Smile and not be at least a wee bit saccharine about your intentions.

Full Review Source: Miami Herald | comment Comment
08/26/05
Peter Debruge
Peter Debruge
Miami Herald

However worthy the sentiment, this one won't leave viewers with a smile.

Full Review Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel | comment Comment
08/26/05
Laura Kelly
Laura Kelly
South Florida Sun-Sentinel

This drama, which was bankrolled by the people behind the international Operation Smile program, has the best of intentions. But it's so painfully earnest that it becomes insufferable.

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
08/05/05
Jeff Vice
Jeff Vice
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

Good cause, bad movie.

Full Review Source: Salt Lake Tribune | comment Comment
08/05/05
Sean Means
Sean Means
Salt Lake Tribune

Feels like a school project that has its heart in the right place if not the skills to produce something with depth and emotional heft.

Full Review Source: Des Moines Register | comment Comment
07/26/05
Jeffrey Bruner
Jeffrey Bruner
Des Moines Register

Kramer may have felt that American audiences would have wanted to follow an American heroine, but it’s Lin’s story that resonates.

Full Review Source: Capital Times (Madison, WI) | comment Comment
06/23/05
Rob Thomas
Rob Thomas
Capital Times (Madison, WI)

Despite terrific China locales and some capable castmembers (notably Wang), the flick gets bogged down by Jeffrey Kramer's strained scriptwriting and unrestrained direction.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
04/22/05
E! Online

This movie's so filled with admirable intentions that they practically spill onto the screen before it starts.

Full Review Source: Newsday | comment Comment
04/21/05
Gene Seymour
Gene Seymour
Newsday

There's little doubt that a nonfiction film would have been more powerful than this strained drama, which offers a Malibu brat as the audience's point of identification.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment Comment
04/08/05
Sheri Linden
Sheri Linden
Hollywood Reporter
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Overall, it's pretty elementary stuff, along the lines of a Disney Channel TV movie.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
04/08/05
Walter V. Addiego
Walter V. Addiego
San Francisco Chronicle

Well-meaning but dramatically lopsided tearjerker bogs down in generic teen angst and domestic squabbling.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
04/07/05
Justin Chang
Justin Chang
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Smile is like a dose of cod liver oil: It may be good for you, but it's no fun.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
04/07/05
Kevin Thomas
Kevin Thomas
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

All the shallow, self-absorbed denizens of Malibu seem relieved.

Full Review Source: L.A. Weekly | comment Comment
04/06/05
Jon Strickland
Jon Strickland
L.A. Weekly
 
 
1 - 13 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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