50
Christian Science Monitor by David Sterritt
Talky and mostly humorless, but interesting as a reflection of Breillat's experiences directing her own popular film "Fat Girl" in 2001.
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60
Enjoyable if light, until it becomes apparent that Breillat is not simply waxing narcissistic but fashioning a simultaneous critique, explication, and demystification of the lengthy, near-single-take defloration that is Fat Girl's centerpiece.
63
ReelViews by James Berardinelli
The film's central flaw is that the characters are haphazardly developed, and don't come across as more interesting than the props.
50
A not terribly creative movie about the creative process.
83
Entertainment Weekly by Lisa Schwarzbaum
Shows a beguiling aptitude for self-mockery in the pursuit of polemic.
60
It captures both the exhilaration and tedium of the filmmaking process--and of looking for and finding passion wherever it might be.
80
When she (Breillat) succeeds, as she does in "Fat Girl" and in the final minutes of Sex Is Comedy, the impact can be overwhelming for filmmaker and audience alike.
70
The New Republic by Stanley Kauffmann
It opens fissures through which we can glimpse oddities and strains in film directing and acting.
70
Parillaud's performance is sharp on its surface and soft at its core. And if Jeanne truly is Breillat's alter ego, she is a pitiless self-portrait.
80
So perversely enjoyable it gives the lie to her (Breillat's) image as a serious, politically incorrect purveyor of pornographic instincts.