Pride 2014

Bill Zwecker, Chicago Sun-Times: This film moves effortlessly from some pretty intense dramatic moments to hilarious scenes showcasing the contrasting lifestyles of the gay and straight worlds to some vignettes of incredible poignancy. Read more

Wesley Morris, Grantland: Warchus really knows how to stage musical theater for the movies. He makes you want to dance. More amazing, however, is that he also makes you want to vote. Read more

Lou Lumenick, New York Post: The once-ubiquitous 'Full Monty' formula is alive, well and still irresistible Read more

Rex Reed, New York Observer: A joyous, well-researched and liberating film ... Read more

Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: Endearing... Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: It's a feel-good movie that does more than temporarily lift your spirits - it makes you feel a little better about the world, and about our capacity to set aside differences and clasp hands. Read more

Charles Gant, Variety: Overall the film is so warmhearted, its themes of friendship and mutual respect so resonant, that few will begrudge it such heightened moments. Read more

A.A. Dowd, AV Club: Some stories are worth getting misty-eyed about, and some crowd-pleasers really please. Read more

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: Oh, it's feel-good, no question about it. But it's also absorbing, important and inspiring. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: A funny, moving, audience-rousing experience, one that comes out of the closet without quite leaving the safety of the Britcom genre. Read more

Ben Sachs, Chicago Reader: Schmaltzy and formulaic, but also lively and sincere. Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: Some of the characters come from life, others are invented. The sterling actors in "Pride" draw no such distinction. Read more

Chris Vognar, Dallas Morning News: A zesty tale of common cause that bursts at the seams with fine performances. Read more

Joe McGovern, Entertainment Weekly: In its total inspirational sweep, it earns comparison to the movement it chronicles - as an organized, well-calculated piece of political theater. Read more

David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter: A bitterly divisive strike in Margaret Thatcher's Britain fosters an unlikely union of solidarity between embattled mineworkers and militant gays in this rousing true story. Read more

Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: "Pride" is an unapologetic crowd-pleaser of a movie, but it has some potent points to make, and the reality of what happened has a power of its own. Read more

Randy Myers, San Jose Mercury News: What's admirable about "Pride" is that it avoids melodrama and leaves you walking out of the theater with a lump in your throat and a smile on your face. Read more

John Anderson, Newsday: Feel-good. Also, manipulative. And pandering. Read more

David Denby, New Yorker: Warchus has directed many successful theatrical productions, including musicals, and in this, his first movie in more than a decade, he appears to have an instinctive grasp of film tempo and mood. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: A British version of those old Hollywood films about bigotry that always decried how terrible it used to be in the South. Read more

Bob Mondello, NPR: The film's high spirits are genuinely infectious. And it says something that 30 years after the events it depicts, Pride should feel so unexpectedly rousing. Read more

Graham Fuller, New York Daily News: A raucous celebration of discordant groups uniting against oppression. Read more

Stephen Holden, New York Times: The kind of hearty, blunt-force drama with softened edges that leaves audiences applauding and teary-eyed. Read more

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: Pride takes a footnote in the history of Britain's crippling yearlong industrial action and gives it a human face. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: Simultaneously touching and funny while being relevant to current events and respectful of the issues involved. Read more

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: Pride [is] a Brit dramedy that is a crowd-pleaser in the best sense of the word. Even when it's tugging hard at your heartstrings, you believe the damn thing. Read more

Michael Ordona, San Francisco Chronicle: This portrayal of the unlikely 1980s alliance between London gay-rights activists and striking Welsh miners is, quite simply, one of the best movies of the year so far. Read more

Kristin Tillotson, Minneapolis Star Tribune: A thoroughly enjoyable movie. Read more

Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: One one level, "Pride" is as fake as a lip-sync revue, yet the emotions it arouses are real. Read more

Geoff Pevere, Globe and Mail: A movie you can laugh along and dance to, and may well become the very first musical in London's West End to bring disco to the grim Welsh coal mines. Read more

Bruce Demara, Toronto Star: That intriguing premise alone makes it worth giving Pride a look. A strong cast and a powerful story - based on real events, though one only learns that as the final credits roll - makes it a film worth recommending. Read more

Alonso Duralde, TheWrap: Pride overstuffs itself with too many characters and too many subplots, but the impact of these musical moments, along with a stellar ensemble of actors, make this an effective feel-good movie about fighting the power. Read more

Dave Calhoun, Time Out: It's a joyous film, full of love and warmth but unafraid to admit that with sticking out your neck comes struggle and sorrow. Read more

Bruce Kirkland, Toronto Sun: The important twist is that Pride seems to capture the essence of reality, giving it the recognition it deserves. Truth really is stranger than fiction, and Pride tells that truth with flair. Read more

Stephanie Zacharek, Village Voice: Pride hits some bumpy patches when it switches gears between comedy and gentle pathos, which it does often. But its spirit is bold enough to power through the rough spots. Read more

David Edelstein, New York Magazine/Vulture: If Pride were a politician, you'd want to vote for it, march for it, and sign up to make calls for it. Read more

Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: "Pride" leaves the viewer in the satisfied throes of all of those emotions: happy and sad, buoyed and chastened, and wondering, finally, what the world might look like if solidarity really could be forever. Read more