RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Found a Bug? Squash It! Report Bugs Here
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / On DVD / The Curse of the Jade Scorpion
The Curse of the Jade Scorpion

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Buy Poster External Icon
  • Visit Official Site External Icon
Bookmark and Share

The Curse of the Jade Scorpion (2001)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
45 %
Tomatometer
Template ImageTemplate Image

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted:122

Fresh:55

Rotten:67

Average Rating:5.2/10

Consensus: The writing for Scorpion is not as sharp as Woody Allen's previous movies as most of the jokes fall flat.

Runtime: 1 hr 42 mins

Genre: Comedies

Synopsis: Woody Allen's funny, frantic THE CURSE OF THE JADE SCORPION is part screwball romantic comedy, part 1940s noir detective story, and part ingenious heist film. Allen stars as C.W. Briggs, a... Woody Allen's funny, frantic THE CURSE OF THE JADE SCORPION is part screwball romantic comedy, part 1940s noir detective story, and part ingenious heist film. Allen stars as C.W. Briggs, a set-in-his-ways old-time insurance investigator who refuses to get along with the bright new efficiency expert, Betty Ann Fitzgerald (Helen Hunt), brought in to streamline his office's operations. Their back-and-forth bickering is reminiscent of the interplay between Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell in HIS GIRL FRIDAY. When a magician, played by the always excellent David Ogden Stiers, hypnotizes them as part of his stage act, Briggs unknowingly becomes a jewel thief while falling in and out of love with the exceedingly more confused Fitz, who is carrying on a secret affair with the married head of the company (Dan Aykroyd). Mayhem ensues as a pair of brother detectives zero in on the criminal, a sexy debutante comes on to Briggs, and Briggs and Fitz start suspecting each other. Production designer Santo Loquasto, who has been working with Allen for more than twenty years, once again has created beautiful sets, and the soundtrack, featuring such 1940s jazz treasures as Glenn Miller and Duke Ellington, is simply splendid. [More]

Starring: Woody Allen, Dan Aykroyd, Charlize Theron, Helen Hunt

Starring: Woody Allen, Dan Aykroyd, Charlize Theron, Helen Hunt, Elizabeth Berkley, John Schuck, Wallace Shawn, David Ogden Stiers, Brian Markinson, Professor Corey

Director: Woody Allen

Director: Woody Allen
Screenwriter: Woody Allen
Producer: Letty Aronson
Studio: DreamWorks Distribution LLC

[See More Credits]

  • Trailers
  • Pictures
1 - 5 of 19

See More Movie Trailers & Pictures

Reviews for The Curse of the Jade Scorpion

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
 
 
121 - 136 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

It's a frail, anemic trifle, a five-minute sketch inexcusably drawn out to well over an hour and a half.

Full Review Source: One Guy's Opinion | comment Comment
08/19/01
Frank Swietek
Frank Swietek
One Guy's Opinion

While the movie does feel like quintessential Allen fare, it just doesn't have his usual panache.

Full Review Source: SPLICEDWire | comment Comment
08/16/01
Rob Blackwelder
Rob Blackwelder
SPLICEDWire

With this and Small Time Crooks, it's nice to see Allen completely back in form.

Full Review Source: Greenwich Village Gazette | comment Comment
08/16/01
Eric Lurio
Eric Lurio
Greenwich Village Gazette

This is not Woody’s sharpest writing, and his direction lulls so often that I found myself nodding off. But there are enough funny bits to make you want more.

Full Review Source: New York Observer | comment Comment
08/16/01
Rex Reed
Rex Reed
New York Observer

...reps a partial return to Woody's old style.

Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
08/16/01
Robin Clifford
Robin Clifford
Reeling Reviews

juxtaposition of these two contrasting acting styles proves unsettling at first, but later queerly entertaining.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Report Card | comment Comment
08/16/01
Ross Anthony
Ross Anthony
Hollywood Report Card

An oddity... stilted.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
08/15/01
Christopher Null
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com

[The film] suffers from the Woody Allen curse. It's a malaise of mediocrity that has struck almost all of his recent films.

Full Review Source: Internet Reviews | comment Comment
08/14/01
Steve Rhodes
Steve Rhodes
Internet Reviews

Little remains after Jade Scorpion is over other than a hazy nostalgic sense for a time that most viewers never knew and that Allen himself was barely old enough to remember.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
08/13/01
Robert Koehler
Robert Koehler
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Refreshing if accepted as nothing more than a light-hearted romp.

Full Review Source: culturevulture.net | comment Comment
08/13/01
George Wu
George Wu
culturevulture.net

There are no twists, no surprises, and no really big laughs to elevate this mediocre movie.

Full Review Source: FilmsInReview.com | comment Comment
08/13/01
Victoria Alexander
Victoria Alexander
FilmsInReview.com

Fans of Allen's dorkdom will dig this Curse; others will just fall into a deep, deep sleep.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
08/10/01
E! Online
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

For those, Woody included, who dream that a snap of the fingers and a single word can solve all relationship problems, Jade Scorpion is definitely the date movie of choice.

Full Review Source: Rolling Stone | comment Comment
08/09/01
Peter Travers
Peter Travers
Rolling Stone

Close your eyes when Helen Hunt and Woody Allen are bickering and you're listening to Tracy and Hepburn.

Full Review Source: Compuserve | comment Comment
08/07/01
Harvey S. Karten
Harvey S. Karten
Compuserve

The Curse of the Jade Scorpion is, flat out, the funniest comedy Woody Allen has made in years.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment Comment
08/06/01
Kirk Honeycutt
Kirk Honeycutt
Hollywood Reporter
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Woody's direction is typically strong. It's just a shame his script wasn't.

Full Review Source: Planet Sick-Boy | comment Comment
07/19/01
Jon Popick
Jon Popick
Planet Sick-Boy
 
 
121 - 136 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
all

Latest News for The Curse of the Jade Scorpion

June 03, 2005: Woody Allen Makes a "Match" With DreamWorks
Woody Allen's well-received entry into the Cannes Film Festival, "Match Point," has been snatched up by DreamWorks Pictures for a cool $4 million. Described as much... More...

June 05, 2001: Hey, if it worked in 2000 with Small Time Crooks (which was Allen's most commercially profitable film ever) maybe it can work this film too. Opens in new window
More...

June 05, 2001: Woody returns with another period piece, this one set in the '40s. Opens in new window
More...

See All

More DVDs

Top Rentals
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
36% 36% Angels & Demons
25% 25% Four Christmases
68% 68% Funny People
95% 95% Star Trek
14% 14% The Ugly Truth

More Rentals…

New On DVD This Week
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
32% 32% Terminator Salvation
44% 44% Night at the Museum: B…
86% 86% A Christmas Tale
60% 60% Paper Heart

More New Releases…

What’s Hot On RT

Twilight Saga: Eclipse

Twilight Saga: Eclipse

5 facts straight from the cast.

Disney Animation

Disney Animation

We chart the studio's classics.

Avatar

Avatar

An exclusive look at the human hardware.

Eric Bana

Eric Bana

The Star Trek star talks cars with RT.

Other News

  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • Peter Jackson Talks Hobbit, LotR Blu-ray Source: Collider.com
0
  • Woman Jailed for Filming New Moon Screening Source: Chicago Sun-Times
0
  • McG Has Plans for Fifth and Sixth Terminator Movies Source: Gizmodo
0
  • Spielberg Hops Away from Harvey Source: Variety
22
  • Tarantino Could Have Directed Green Lantern Source: MTV
24
  • Will Duvall be Gilliam's Don Quixote? Source: Collider.com
26
  • No Hobbit Until 2012? Source: The Wrap
22
  • Don't Hold Your Breath for Hancock 2 Source: HitFix
42
  • Peter Berg Talks Battleship Source: CHUD
2
  • Summit Ponders Twilight Finale Source: Variety
162
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Total Recall: Natalie Portman's Best Movies
79
  • Five Favorite Films with Jason Reitman
55
  • Critics Consensus: Everybody's Fine Is Just OK
50
  • 10 Horrifically Profitable Films
46
  • Sundance 2010: RT's 10 Most Anticipated Movies
41
  • Five Favorite Films with Jesse Ventura
40
  • Weekly Ketchup: Tron Team to Remake The Black Hole
36
  • Awards Tour: National Board of Review Winners List!
28
  • Friday Harvest: Iron Man 2, Harry Potter, and more!
23
  • RT on DVD & Blu-Ray: Terminator Salvation and a Smithsonian Battle
22
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • Director Ruben Fleischer Talks Zombieland
2
  • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
17
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
12
  • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary
23
  • James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
8
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
15
  • Terry Gilliam Talks Doctor Parnassus
22
  • Wes Anderson Talks Fantastic Mr. Fox - RT Interview
9
  • Wolverine Creator Len Wein Talks About the Film
28
  • Gavin Hood Talks Wolverine; Possible Sequel
30
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • The Curse of the Jade Scorpion at Rotten Tomatoes
  • The Curse of the Jade Scorpion at IGN
  • The Curse of the Jade Scorpion at AskMen

Fresh Links

Featured
RT on YouTube
RT on YouTube External Link

Subscribe to RT's YouTube channel and don't miss a second of our cracking video content.

RT on Twitter
RT on Twitter External Link

Follow Rotten Tomatoes and join us as we tweet about the week's releases.

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive | Green Pixels


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.