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Movies / On DVD / Scenes From a Mall
Scenes From a Mall

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Scenes From a Mall (1991)

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27 %
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Reviews Counted:22

Fresh:6

Rotten:16

Average Rating:4.2/10

Runtime: 87 mins

Genre: Comedies

Synopsis: Bette Midler and Woody Allen star in director Paul Mazursky's comedy as a professional Los Angeles couple--Deborah (Midler) is the author of a best-selling self-help book about marriage and has... Bette Midler and Woody Allen star in director Paul Mazursky's comedy as a professional Los Angeles couple--Deborah (Midler) is the author of a best-selling self-help book about marriage and has been wed to successful lawyer Nick (Allen) for 16 years. They live a high-pressure professional life, complete with matching Saabs, two kids, a house in the hills, beepers, cell phones, and a constant barrage of client phone calls. To celebrate their anniversary, they decide to embark on a spending spree at the Beverly Center mall. But while there, each makes a startling revelation that rocks their marriage. Nick, following advice from his wife's book, kicks things off by announcing he's been having an affair. Deborah, staggered by the news, rebounds by requesting a divorce. The spoiled couple reconciles--until the author admits that she's been unfaithful herself. As Nick and Deborah wade their way through the mall, dodging a particularly annoying mime (clown Bill Irwin in a hilarious role), mariachi bands, and Christmas-carolling rappers, they are forced to realize the mistakes they've made along the way--all the while juggling the pros and cons of their marriage, dividing assets, and shooting off rapid rounds of compliments and insults. Midler and Allen make a terrific and suitably neurotic pair in Mazursky's hilarious satire of an outlandish Los Angles marriage. [More]

Starring: Bette Midler, Woody Allen, Bill Irwin, Paul Mazursky

Starring: Bette Midler, Woody Allen, Bill Irwin, Paul Mazursky

Director: Paul Mazursky

Director: Paul Mazursky

[See More Credits]

Reviews for Scenes From a Mall

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1 - 20 (sorted by rotten rating; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Allen's admittedly funny lines get lost in the mess, and Midler, in relatively restrained mode, fades away altogether.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Wally Hammond
Wally Hammond
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

There's a horrible fascination here that goes beyond Woody's ponytail.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
05/24/03
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

There are moments here and there, but it's mostly ordinary, unimaginative writing. Midler and Allen deserve better.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
03/23/09
TV Guide's Movie Guide
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Again proving Woody Allen should stick with Woody Allen movies.

comment Comment
09/18/05
Alex Sandell
Alex Sandell
Juicy Cerebellum

No review available.

comment Comment
10/18/02
Brian J. Arthurs
Brian J. Arthurs
Beach Reporter (Southern California)

Sounds like the perfect high-concept project, right? So how could it go wrong? Who knows? But wrong it went.

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

No review available.

comment Comment
10/05/05
Chuck O'Leary
Chuck O'Leary
Fantastica Daily

Next time you go shopping leave Woody and Bette at home

comment Comment
09/17/02
Clint Morris
Clint Morris
Moviehole

No review available.

comment Comment
08/10/05
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

Mazursky has returned with a vengeance to his special universe where the upper middle class is the only thing that exists, and this time he has absolutely nothing to say about it.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
03/23/09
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader

There's a reason Woody Allen usually directs himself.

comment Comment
01/29/04
Ken Hanke
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

It offers you surprisingly little considering the names involved.

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
01/01/00
Mark R. Leeper
Mark R. Leeper
rec.arts.movies.reviews

A close-up look at a couple's painful catharsis so well wedded to marital discord it's like going through a divorce with yourself.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
01/01/00
Rita Kempley
Rita Kempley
Washington Post

Sorta funny, but the gap yawns between what it is and what it should have been.

comment Comment
05/25/06
Rob Thomas
Rob Thomas
Capital Times (Madison, WI)

When a movie seems overflowing with interesting, colorful details, that is often a sign of desperation -- a way of saying, if the picture's no good, get a gaudier frame.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
01/01/00
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Funny in fits and starts before wearing out its welcome in short order.

comment Comment
04/03/05
Scott Weinberg
Scott Weinberg
eFilmCritic.com

Paul Mazursky's 14th film as director is a cozy, insular middle-aged marital comedy that's about as deep and rewarding as a day of mall-cruising.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
03/23/09
Variety Staff
Variety Staff
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
09/10/04
Carol Cling
Carol Cling
Las Vegas Review-Journal

Examines a marriage under siege.

Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
07/18/03
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice

Some funny moments, but it should have been a triumph

comment Comment
02/25/04
James Sanford
James Sanford
Kalamazoo Gazette
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by rotten rating; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
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