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(1 - 24) of 24 OFCS Rating: 50% Rotten Page   1   D+ "After a recent viewing, I can see why the studio showed little interest in releasing it: this film is one screeching, mystifying, overdirected, hot mess."   FilmJerk.com   Brian Orndorf "Bryan Barber's first feature also tweaks gangster movie conventions with brilliant choreography, hip-hop beats, and inventive images."   PopMatters   Cynthia Fuchs A "A stylish, energetic romp of 1930s flair with two platinum-selling artists kicking the tires of Hollywood paradigms."   EDGE Boston   David Foucher 2.5/4 "The genre-smashing Idlewild brings welcome new life to the familiar."   TheMovieBoy.com   Dustin Putman B- "Like too many video directors turned filmmakers, Barber has forgotten having more than four minutes to tell a story does not mean take your sweet time getting to the point."   FilmJerk.com   Edward Havens C "You wouldn't think a musical would suffer from a lack of music, but here we are."   EricDSnider.com   Eric D. Snider 2.5/4 "Though not as good as I hoped it would be, it's still an above par musical effort in the end..."   Cinema Crazed   Felix Vasquez Jr. C+ "A weirdly inconsistent movie enjoyable only in fits and starts; but the fits are pretty spectacular."   One Guy's Opinion   Frank Swietek 2.5/4 "There's nothing compelling about the characters or story, and that maroons Idlewild within the category of disposable entertainment."   ReelViews   James Berardinelli 3/5 "You'll probably come to Idlewild for the musical excitement, but you may just find yourself leaving with a surprisingly bittersweet lump in your throat."   Q Network Film Desk   James Kendrick 3.5/4 "Animated musical notes jump from their staffs with frenzied glee and stop motion dancers fly high in a kaleidoscope of color, rhythm and joy. What's not to love?"   Palo Alto Weekly   Jeanne Aufmuth 9/10 "Idlewild's brazen approach to cinematic entertainment is one of its brightest lights."   ReelTalk Movie Reviews   Jeffrey Chen "Outside of the musical numbers, Idlewild is nothing more than an old-fashioned crime melodrama, a generic jumble of Prohibition-era gangsters and aspiring musicians - any one storyline instantly recognizable from a dozen other films."   Pajiba   Jeremy C. Fox 2/4 "I'd love to revisit the best scenes as unrelated music videos but as a whole, the film just doesn't work."   Montreal Film Journal   Kevin N. Laforest 2.5/4 "The film winds up being neither fish nor fowl, and sat on the shelf for the better part of two years before being released."   TV Guide's Movie Guide   Maitland McDonagh C- "Idlewild overflows with inventiveness and random weirdness that sort of make it a must-see even if it isn't a particularly good film."   NightsAndWeekends.com   Mark Pfeiffer "[F]antasy like we like our movies to be, a cinematic phantasmagoria of a dream version of the past... lush, rich, ridiculously romantic..."   Flick Filosopher   MaryAnn Johanson 2/5 "Coming from a band as creative as OutKast, this film is a big letdown, because it lacks any creativity of its own."   Goatdog's Movies   Michael W. Phillips, Jr. B "The evident affection for this romanticized vision of the era saturates the film like the warm sepia tones of its palette."   Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies   Nell Minow 1.5/4 "A middling musical mishmash that can't keep a beat."   Slant Magazine   Nick Schager 2/5 "While it's visually inventive, the story's too trite and clichéd to be meaningful."   Shadows on the Wall   Rich Cline "Between the gangsters and the showgirls, the gorgeous costumes and the wowser production numbers, Idlewild has just about everything a popular entertainment can offer. It also has a soul, and that comes free with the price of a ticket."   Salon.com   Stephanie Zacharek 2.5/4 "It may not be a complete success, but when Andre 3000 pays homage to Cab Calloway, Idlewild is hard to resist."   Reel.com   Timothy Knight 1.5/4 Read review   Big Picture Big Sound   Joe Lozito  (1 - 24) of 24 OFCS Rating: 50% Rotten Page   1