It is absurd yet enjoyable, and playing fast and loose with English history is a refreshing alternative to slow and tight solemnity; the effect is genial, even mildly subversive.
Comment
03/07/08
The Other Boleyn Girl (2008)
36
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:11
Fresh:4
Rotten:7
Average Rating:5.2/10
Consensus: Though it features some extravagant and entertaining moments, The Other Boleyn Girl feels more like a soap opera than historical drama.
Theatrical Release:07-03-2008
Synopsis: Based on the best selling novel by Philippa Gregory, The Other Boleyn Girl is an engrossing and sensual tale of intrigue, romance, and betrayal set against the backdrop of a defining moment in... [More]
Reviews for The Other Boleyn Girl
1 - 11 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Top CriticUltimately we are meant to eat chocolates, admire their trembling lower lips, and choose sides.
03/07/08
Top CriticWith only one member of its love triangle really delivering, this packs less of an emotional punch than it ought. And who'd be a courtier, eh?
03/07/08
Top CriticRavishing frocks and heaving bosoms are the main constituents of The Other Boleyn Girl, an entertaining bodice ripper lightly disguised as historical fiction.
03/07/08
Top CriticWhy in the name of ermine boleros would anyone make such a dull, coy and, worst of all, pretty film about Anne Boleyn?
03/07/08
Top CriticA rather titillating take on a racy historical novel, this is perhaps too ambitious in intent. More time, or more pruning (perhaps they should just have focused on The Boleyn girl), would have produced a richer and more enjoyable film.
03/07/08
Top CriticIf Russ Meyer had made The Other Boleyn Girl, Anne and Mary Boleyn would have yanked some hair, scratched some eyeballs, walloped each other in their respective kissers, and the movie would have been all the better for it.
02/29/08
Top CriticMore slog than romp, The Other Boleyn Girl tells the salacious story of two hot blue bloods who ran amok and partly unclothed in the court of Henry VIII.
02/29/08
Top CriticOK as far as it goes, which is not far enough.
02/29/08
Top CriticShot in high definition and filmed at many historic locations, the film somehow still lacks the splendor of an epic.
02/19/08
Top CriticA sexy, good-looking political bodice-ripper with an almost flawless cast at the top of its game.
02/19/08
Top Critic1 - 11 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Latest News for The Other Boleyn Girl
August 23, 2008:
Iconoclast.com: An all in the dysfunctional family royal romp with incestuous tendencies, this richly textured, dramatically disciplined, erotically laced and emotionally taut creation makes for weirdly kinky historical analysis. 
More...
June 18, 2008:
An all in the dysfunctional family royal romp with incestuous tendencies, this richly textured, dramatically disciplined, erotically laced and emotionally taut creation makes for weirdly kinky historical analysis, but pretty steamy pre-tabloid melodrama.
More...
June 09, 2008:
RT on DVD: Bosomy Boleyn Girls, Jumper, John Adams
As the latest wave of Obamamania sweeps the country, look forward to HBO's Recount...or peek into the past with HBO's John Adams. Also clear your calendar for high-def Top... More...
June 05, 2008:
Another Boleyn Girl On the Way?
Despite lukewarm reviews and middling box-office receipts, rumor has it that work has begun on a sequel to The Other Boleyn Girl. More...
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