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Movies / On DVD / Holy Smoke!
Holy Smoke!

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Holy Smoke! (1999)

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Reviews Counted:73

Fresh:32

Rotten:41

Average Rating:5.6/10

Consensus: Superb performances hindered by weak script and incoherent story.

Runtime: 1 hr 54 mins

Genre: Comedies

Synopsis: In this wildly inventive film from director Jane Campion (THE PIANO), Kate Winslet stars as Ruth, a headstrong Australian woman determined to get back to India in time to join a group marriage to... In this wildly inventive film from director Jane Campion (THE PIANO), Kate Winslet stars as Ruth, a headstrong Australian woman determined to get back to India in time to join a group marriage to her guru. Her family, hoping to break the cult leader's psychic grip on Ruth, hires P.J. (Harvey Keitel), a macho American deprogramming expert teetering on the brink of a nervous breakdown. A no-holds-barred battle of the psyches, cultures, and sexes ensues as P.J. and Ruth fight, connive, and eventually fall into bed together in what becomes a mutual search for individual truth. The strong performances of the two stars, a hilariously offbeat script (cowritten by Campion and her sister, Anna), and a wealth of delicious, texture-enhancing flourishes (including some surreal bits of computer animation, Pam Grier's work in a small role as P.J.'s partner, and a wild opening sequence set to Neil Diamond's "Holly Holy") combine to make HOLY SMOKE! a weird, winning blend of goofy comedy and hallucinatory mysticism. [More]

Starring: Kate Winslet, Harvey Keitel, Sophie Lee, Tim Robertson

Starring: Kate Winslet, Harvey Keitel, Sophie Lee, Tim Robertson, Pam Grier, Dan Wyllie

Director: Jane Campion

Director: Jane Campion
Screenwriter: Anna Campion, Jane Campion
Producer: Jan Chapman
Composer: Angelo Badalamenti

[See More Credits]

Reviews for Holy Smoke!

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41 - 60 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Not all of the ensuing psychodrama works completely, but as ever, it's just so pleasant to see someone making a movie that's about something

Full Review Source: eye WEEKLY | comment Comment
01/01/00
Gemma Files
Gemma Files
eye WEEKLY

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
01/01/00
Greg Muskewitz
Greg Muskewitz
eFilmCritic.com

Holy Smoke is a fun picture full of vibrant imagery, wacky characters, and carnal aspirations.

Full Review Source: Compuserve | comment Comment
01/01/00
Harvey S. Karten
Harvey S. Karten
Compuserve

Filled with flashy sight gags, overwrought performances, and madly overlapping dialogue.

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
01/01/00
J. Hoberman
J. Hoberman
Village Voice

Winslet and Keitel make this a must-view in a season where the scent of Oscar is in the air.

Full Review Source: New York Daily News | comment Comment
01/01/00
Jack Mathews
Jack Mathews
New York Daily News

Holy Smoke is one of those movies that takes some potentially fascinating ideas and shipwrecks them by poor execution and even worse writing.

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
01/01/00
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
ReelViews

As Holy Smoke moves from its early mix of rapture and humor into this more serious, confrontational stage, it runs into trouble.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
01/01/00
Janet Maslin
Janet Maslin
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It's little more than a revisionist version of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew without the clever wordplay.

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
01/01/00
Jeff Vice
Jeff Vice
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

Holy Smoke does journey all over the map in a variety of tones and styles, but Campion is a master director and keeps this under control.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
01/01/00
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

A tightly wound, heady affair that actually comes to seem more deranged as it progresses.

Full Review Source: Sacramento Bee | comment Comment
01/01/00
Joe Baltake
Joe Baltake
Sacramento Bee

Despite the good performances and Campion's visual reach, her characters are too specific/eccentric to transcend their storyline and make us feel that there's something to be absorbed from the P.J.-Ruth imbroglio.

Full Review Source: Newsday | comment Comment
01/01/00
John Anderson
John Anderson
Newsday

The film is brutally uneven, but not without visual flare.

Full Review Source: Planet Sick-Boy | comment Comment
01/01/00
Jon Popick
Jon Popick
Planet Sick-Boy

A dreadful mess.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
01/01/00
Jonathan Foreman
Jonathan Foreman
New York Post

Jane Campion va en franco descenso en cuanto a calidad y coherencia cinematográfica se refiere

Full Review Source: Moviola | comment Comment
01/01/00
Jorge Avila Andrade
Jorge Avila Andrade
Moviola

Holy Smoke is unusual and it's smart. Well, insofar as we can figure out.

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
01/01/00
Liz Braun
Liz Braun
Jam! Movies

Campion's seductive flourishes are eye-catching but never gratuitous, and the image of Winslet as a multi-armed goddess is truly ravishing.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
01/01/00
Maitland McDonagh
Maitland McDonagh
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Confused and lacking a tangible emotional center, Campion's tale of a sleazy cult deprogrammer and his voluptuous Aussie charge is chock-full of half-baked statements, notions, and scenes...

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
01/01/00
Marc Savlov
Marc Savlov
Austin Chronicle

Campion, who co-wrote the script with her sister Anna, appears to have spent so much time and energy creating Ruth that she didn't have anything left over for rest of the characters.

Full Review Source: Salon.com | comment Comment
01/01/00
Mary Elizabeth Williams
Mary Elizabeth Williams
Salon.com

Although the cinematography by Dion Beebe is beautiful, and most of the performances click, Campion never really gets to the point of what she's trying to say. It's all too vague.

Full Review Source: Matt's Movie Reviews | comment Comment
01/01/00
Matt Easterbrook
Matt Easterbrook
Matt's Movie Reviews

Holy Smoke is the ultimate demonstration that Campion isn't nearly as intelligent a director as she thinks she is.

Full Review Source: Reel.com | comment Comment
01/01/00
Matt Reichl
Matt Reichl
Reel.com
 
 
41 - 60 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 >> >|
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