Brown Sugar: Critic Reviews

67%

MovieWeb: 1 reviews

65%

RottenTomatoes: 95 reviews

« previous
1
2
3
...
next »
«
»

Owen Gleiberman Entertainment Weekly (Top Critic)

50

Predictable and cloying, though Brown Sugar is so earnest in its yearning for the days before rap went nihilistic that it summons more spirit and bite than your average formulaic romantic quadrangle.
Full Review » 10 years ago
Dave Kehr New York Times (Top Critic)

60

Sustains the charm of an early 60's New York romance.
Full Review » 10 years ago
Guardian [UK] (Top Critic)

Full Review » 9 years ago
Ann Hornaday Washington Post (Top Critic)

You don't have to know about music to appreciate the film's easygoing blend of comedy and romance.
Full Review » 10 years ago
Desson Thomson Washington Post (Top Critic)

You could do worse than watch beautiful people making kissy-face with each other.
Full Review » 10 years ago
Wesley Morris Boston Globe (Top Critic)

50

Too much about Brown Sugar is carried out with utmost decorum, as if writer-director Rick Famuyiwa were bringing hip-hop home to meet the parents.
Full Review » 10 years ago
Michael Miller Village Voice (Top Critic)

Their love fails to resonate as anything more than a shared musical passion.
Full Review » 10 years ago
Houston Chronicle (Top Critic)

Full Review » 10 years ago
Tom Maurstad Dallas Morning News (Top Critic)

67

What really breaks this movie out of the romantic-comedy rut is the setting in which it's told.
Full Review » 10 years ago
Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times (Top Critic)

75

A romantic comedy, yes, but one with characters who think and talk about their goals, and are working on hard decisions.
Full Review » 10 years ago
Robert K. Elder Chicago Tribune (Top Critic)

63

While it's genuinely cool to hear characters talk about early rap records (Sugar Hill Gang, etc.), the constant referencing of hip-hop arcana can alienate even the savviest audiences.
Full Review » 10 years ago
Carrie Rickey Philadelphia Inquirer (Top Critic)

75

Given the talent and the twist, it's as fresh as the classic Tracy-Hepburn comedies.
Full Review » 10 years ago
Susan Stark Detroit News (Top Critic)

75

The movie's attention to cultural context really does separate it from anything that came before, including the winning, but finally irrelevant, When Harry Met Sally...
Full Review » 10 years ago
Arizona Republic (Top Critic)

Full Review » 10 years ago
Todd McCarthy Variety (Top Critic)

A crumb of psychology would have helped.
Full Review » 10 years ago
Jonathan Foreman New York Post (Top Critic)

50

There's something unintentionally comic in the film's drumbeat about authenticity, given the stale plot and pornographic way the film revels in swank apartments, clothes and parties.
Full Review » 10 years ago
Roger Moore Orlando Sentinel (Top Critic)

60

Glossy, funny, touching and cute.
Full Review » 10 years ago
Peter Howell Toronto Star (Top Critic)

60

Makes the sweet case that sincerity strikes the biggest romantic sparks.
Full Review » 10 years ago
Liam Lacey Globe and Mail (Top Critic)

63

Bland if amiable.
Full Review » 10 years ago
Charles Taylor Salon.com (Top Critic)

Taye Diggs never overdoes Dre's intensity or integrity; he's an understated leading man who is all the more likable because of it. But it's Sanaa Lathan as Sidney who won my heart here.
Full Review » 10 years ago
James Berardinelli ReelViews (Top Critic)

75

Famuyiwa's feature deals with its subject matter in a tasteful, intelligent manner, rather than forcing us to endure every plot contrivance that the cliche-riddled genre can offer.
Full Review » 10 years ago
Michael Rechtshaffen Hollywood Reporter (Top Critic)

An agreeably charming, brightly performed romantic comedy.
Full Review » 10 years ago
Kevin Thomas Los Angeles Times (Top Critic)

70

As satisfying as it is sleek, and Famuyiwa inspires carefully nuanced portrayals from his cast.
Full Review » 10 years ago
Michael Dequina TheMovieReport.com

75

The spirit of the old school echoes strongly throughout the film and parallels the purity of the passions and personalities of the paramours.
Full Review » 3 years ago
Urban Cinefile Critics Urban Cinefile

Full Review » 4 years ago