Les femmes du 6ème étage 2011

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: "The Women on the 6th Floor'' is delicate and sensitive and utter bollocks - a bourgeois wet dream made to soothe the souls and stir the loins of powerful men in midlife crisis. Read more

Manohla Dargis, New York Times: Lighter than a meringue and as insubstantial, the French boulevard comedy "The Women on the 6th Floor" was designed for the gentle laughter it easily earns. Read more

David Fear, Time Out: Philippe Le Guay's trite-to-intolerable tale on the discreet eye-opening of the bourgeoisie. Read more

Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: Think of Philippe Le Guay's French-language comedy, set in the 1960s, as a fairy-tale version of "The Help." Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: A sweet yet occasionally heavy-handed comedy about class relations in 1962 Paris... Read more

Alison Willmore, AV Club: Never confronts the uncomfortable power dynamics underlying its arc of self-discovery, and never digs deeper than its broad generalizations about being poor but happy vs. rich but soulless. Read more

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader: This agreeable French comedy wears its class consciousness on its sleeve but functions primarily as bourgeois light entertainment. Read more

Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: The French have a knack for it. They've been making funny and agreeable movie farces for forever, and seeing "The Women on the 6th Floor" makes you hope they'll never stop. Read more

Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: This is one French comedy that could have used a little more hand wringing and a little less whimsy. Read more

Stanley Kauffmann, The New Republic: All in all-if all is meant moderately-the story leaves an agreeable aftertaste, which lingers longer than we expected. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: It gives us the sort of problem-free escape that poor beleaguered Jean-Louis can only daydream of. Read more

Mark Jenkins, NPR: Luchini, who played the condescending patriarch in Potiche, is very experienced at this sort of thing. He conveys not just the foolish vanity of the middle-aged male, but also moments of genuine empathy, gallantry and hurt. Read more

Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: For a smarter take on personal discovery, you'd be better off watching Luchini's last film, the delightful French farce "Potiche." Read more

V.A. Musetto, New York Post: Sorry, but I'm not buying it -- even if the whole thing's set in the free-loving '60s. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: "The Women on the 6th Floor" is a pleasant movie, even-tempered, a romantic fantasy. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: The period detail grounds it and gives us an interesting look into class as it existed in France some 45 years ago. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: The film doesn't blaze adventurous new trails, but it dramatizes the stories of those underappreciated servants with an engaging mix of romance, droll humor and upstairs-downstairs social consciousness. Read more

Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: "The Women on the 6th Floor" shouldn't work, but this efficient flick whisks away our cynicism. Read more

Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail: A sporadically amusing, occasionally off-putting French farce. Read more

Dave Calhoun, Time Out: The film sidesteps all complexities and leaves us with a closing shot that should come with a bucket. Read more

Linda Barnard, Toronto Star: The Women on the 6th Floor follows the well-worn story pathway about relationships between bosses and servants, but does so with a sense of genuine joy that mostly makes up for any lack of originality. Read more

Boyd van Hoeij, Variety: Light on bite but heavy on laughs. Read more

Melissa Anderson, Village Voice: [An] unnecessary rehashing of the earthy virtues of low-paid laborers versus the stiffness of the bourgeoisie. Read more

Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post: [It] has drama, comedy, romance and class politics. It also introduces an element of ethnic prejudice to the mix. Read more