The darker hues of Amis's story, though frequently discernible beneath the gloss, are ultimately submerged beneath the usual set of artistic compromises.
The Rachel Papers
✭ ✭ ✭ Read critic reviews
United Kingdom · 1989
Rated R · 1h 35m
Director Damian Harris
Starring Dexter Fletcher, Ione Skye, Jonathan Pryce, James Spader
Genre Comedy, Romance
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Charles is in control of his life; he is about to finish 6th from college and start at Oxford. He is 19 and wants an 'older' woman before he turns 20. Enter the beautiful Rachel, and Charles puts his 'master-of-seduction' routines into top gear. Things however get complicated, Charles has a string of ex's and a weird brother-in-law. Rachel has a boyfriend named Deforest and Charles' father has a mistress.
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What are critics saying?
This is a film that rides on its spiffy cleverness, its swift wit and smart talk. There's an unexpected, not-tightly-screwed-on sense of comedy on display here that's bright and original even when the story falters.
Los Angeles Times by Kevin Thomas
While not especially distinctive, the film is pleasant and amusing. It has a brisk, well-turned-out quality that augurs well for Harris, the son of Richard Harris.
The Globe and Mail (Toronto) by Rick Groen
OH DEAR, what grade to assign The Rachel Papers? Hmmm, seems this is a British coming-of-age flick that turns out to be a whole lot like the U.S. coming-of-age flicks we've seen a whole lot of. Sure, better cast, earthier language, niftier accents, but the same paint-by-number formula punctuated by the same tacked-on "be true to yourself" moral. Heck, let's be generous: passing, barely passing. [12 May 1989]
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