THE TRUTH ABOUT CHARLIE

"Comparisons are sadly inevitable. Mark Wahlberg is no Cary Grant, even if he has better abs. When Thandie Newton, in the Audrey Hepburn role in this remake of 'Charade,' hands Wahlberg that famous line, 'You know what's wrong with you? Absolutely nothing!,' you may feel an obligation to speak up...the lilting dynamic between those icons of sophistication, Grant and Hepburn, remains inimitable and indelible. May that legacy rest in peace." --Jami Bernard, The New York Daily News

"Why would anyone want to do a remake of 'Charade,' the 1963 booby-trapped romantic thriller that always played like a Hitchcock movie in cement shoes?...Jonathan Demme has cast the gravely gorgeous Thandie Newton in the role once played by Audrey Hepburn, getting her to act not like a perky gamine in distress but a dour woman in peril...'The Truth About Charlie'' isn't incompetent, exactly, yet it would be hard to think of a recent movie that has worked this hard to achieve this little fun...The only charade is the illusion that we might actually be entertained." -- Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly

"This knockabout, moderately successful remake of the 1963 comic thriller 'Charade' lacks the heartless, silken cool of the original... most of the film's allure comes from the sensual, butter-voiced Thandie Newton; with her, Mr. Demme has found the 21st-century corollary to Audrey Hepburn...She's a gamine in touch with her sexuality instead of floating slightly above it; unlike Hepburn, she's an angel whose feet touch the ground...Unfortunately, Mr. Wahlberg doesn't nearly match up in comparison to Cary Grant." -- Elvis Mitchell, The New York Times

"It clearly indicates director Jonathan Demme's desire to get back to the spirit of his earlier, zanier work...But had Demme had another round of script conferences (or maybe 10 rounds less?), this story might have found the right ratio of zaniness and actual narrative strength. And he's also hampered by Wahlberg, whose gym-toned physique has an inverse ratio to his credibility as a romantic leading man. Newton may not be a great actor, either, but she's full of life and charm. She's the only thing holding this movie together at all." -- Desson Howe, The Washington Post

"'The Truth About Charlie' is excessively clever and minimally charming, so eager to demonstrate its undeniable cinematic skills that it ends up outsmarting itself, showing off for its own pleasure when it should be trying to satisfy the rest of us...'Charlie's' flashy look and unconvincingly glib attitude eventually turns into as much of an irritant as an attraction...'The Truth About Charlie' is one very busy film, but it's really not going anywhere." --Kenneth Turan, The Los Angeles Times

"Demme tosses everything in--slow-mo dissolves, rapid-fire cutting and characters talking directly into the camera, all of which confirm one's first impression that everyone is in this for the laughs. Except there aren't any...what we get is not the truth about anything except the perils of remakes." -- John Anderson, Newsday