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Movies / On DVD / August Rush
August Rush

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August Rush (2007)

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Reviews Counted:11

Fresh:6

Rotten:5

Average Rating:5/10

Consensus: Though featuring a talented cast, August Rush cannot overcome the flimsy direction and schmaltzy plot.

Rated: PG [See Full Rating] for some thematic elements, mild violence and language.

Runtime: 1 hr 53 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:23-11-2007

Synopsis: AUGUST RUSH is part romance, part gentle fantasy, but this sweet drama is all heart. When young cellist Lyla (Keri Russell) and rock musician Louis (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) meet at a party in the mid... AUGUST RUSH is part romance, part gentle fantasy, but this sweet drama is all heart. When young cellist Lyla (Keri Russell) and rock musician Louis (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) meet at a party in the mid 1990s, it's love at first sight, and they spend the night in each other's arms. But Lyla's father forces them apart, even though she later learns she's pregnant. Later, an accident lands Lyla in the hospital, and though her father tells her that her baby died, the child survives and is given up for adoption. AUGUST RUSH jumps to the present and begins to follow Evan (Freddie Highmore), an 11 year old who has grown up in a boys' home. As Evan embarks on a crusade to find his parents, he imagines he can communicate with them through his gift for music. His journey to New York City brings him into contact with Wizard (Robin Williams), a man eager to capitalize on the child prodigy's talent. Wizard gives Evan the name August Rush as he begins performing all over the city, but the boy's ultimate goal is to find the parents he has never met. From FINDING NEVERLAND to CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, Highmore has displayed an almost prodigious talent himself. He's a gifted young actor, and this emotional story is the perfect venue for his acting. AUGUST RUSH isn't a film for the cynics, but even the hard-hearted in the audience will have difficulty not being touched by this sentimental film. As in Evan's life, music plays a central role in AUGUST RUSH, and it's tough not to let your heart soar along with the melodies. Though it could draw comparisons to OLIVER! and ANNIE, this is a unique and heartwarming film. [More]

Starring: Freddie Highmore, Robin Williams, Keri Russell, Jonathan Rhys Meyers

Starring: Freddie Highmore, Robin Williams, Keri Russell, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Terrence Howard, William Sadler, Mykelti Williamson, Ronald Guttman

Director: Kirsten Sheridan

Director: Kirsten Sheridan
Screenwriter: Nick Castle, James V. Hart
Story: Paul Castro, Nick Castle
Producer: Richard Barton Lewis
Composer: Mark Mancina
Studio: Warner Bros.

[See More Credits]

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Reviews for August Rush

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1 - 11 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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Watching this yucky emotional drama is like being sprayed with treacle from a high-pressure hose.

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment 1 Comment
11/23/07
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A show-stopping compendium of clichés, bogus emotions, duff dialogue and cringeworthy performances. Yet it’s so naively idiotic that it’s hard to hate. Better just to ignore it.

Full Review Source: Times [UK] | comment Comment
11/23/07
Kevin Maher
Kevin Maher
Times [UK]
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Passionate about the importance of music, August Rush is an ambitious family film that just about keeps its head above the rising waters of gushing sentimentality.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
11/23/07
Daniel Etherington
Daniel Etherington
Channel 4 Film
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Yes, August Rush is cheesy, almost embarrassingly so, but it's also irrepressibly sweet.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
11/23/07
Fairn Roberts
Fairn Roberts
BBC
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This inspirational drama gets three stars for oddity value alone.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
11/22/07
Wally Hammond
Wally Hammond
Time Out
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Unapologetically preposterous, but it is a (very sweet) fairy tale and Highmore is captivating.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
11/21/07
Angie Errigo
Angie Errigo
Empire Magazine
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August Rush feels like the cinematic equivalent of being stuffed with fruitcake and doused with a gallon of egg nog.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
11/21/07
Carina Chocano
Carina Chocano
Los Angeles Times
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I dislike sentimentality where it doesn't belong, but there's something brave about the way August Rush declares itself and goes all the way with coincidence, melodrama and skillful tear-jerking.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
11/21/07
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
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To describe August Rush as a piece of shameless hokum doesn’t quite do justice to the potentially shock-inducing sugar content of this contemporary fairy tale.

comment 1 Comment
11/21/07
Stephen Holden
Stephen Holden
New York Times
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An often charming urban fantasy that teeters perilously on the brink of preciousness but never quite topples over.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment Comment
11/09/07
Kirk Honeycutt
Kirk Honeycutt
Hollywood Reporter
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Many of the so-called twists feel strained, though preteens are unlikely to complain, and there's nothing here to really frighten an even younger crowd.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
10/23/07
Jay Weissberg
Jay Weissberg
Variety
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1 - 11 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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