Birthday Girl

R

Released Feb 1, 2002

1 hr. 33 min.

Comedy

Drama

List

59%

122 Reviews

Tomatometer

39%

10,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

John (Ben Chaplin) is a mild-mannered banker who has never been lucky in love. Fed up with waiting for the right girl to come along, John takes a chance on a Russian mail-order bride arranged via the Internet. His Internet love connection is the enigmatic Nadia (Nicole Kidman). When Nadia's Russian cousins, Yuri and Alexei, turn up unexpectedly to celebrate her birthday, John's life is turned upside down as he learns the truth behind their relationship and is taken on an adventure.

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Critics Consensus

Kidman shows her range in this quirky movie, but the shift in tone from romantic comedy to thriller may leave viewers unsatisfied.

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Jelisije J

A movie that starts off slow, but slowly picks up and then it falls flat with a rushed ending.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

03/29/24

Full Review

Audience Member

Talk about a birthday girl celebrating the wrong way Nicole Kidman and Ben Chaplin A single man John impulsively orders a bride online Nadia She seems graceful, elegant, and refined It also happens to be her birthday when they meet But when her family arrives she starts spilling secrets about her life that John isn't ready for Nadia's past makes things shaky for John so can he fully trust her or abandon the relationship altogether? Bad stuff John is dragged into involved guns money etc The movie feels a bit run of the mill plus the shift in tone makes it feel very uneven It's very messy story wise But Kidman has some decent range here and Chaplin plays a good lovesick guy

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/22/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Scam within a scam with a payback twist. Not bad sort of comic caper movie.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/06/23

Full Review

steve d

The tone is all over the place. Not romantic and not at all thrilling.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Rich S

I'll go out on a limb and write "this is Nicole Kidman like you've never seen her before." And I think you'll like it. The movie is a lightweight, but Kidman, Ben Chapin and a couple of Russian thugs made this a passable flick. Dubbed a comedy/crime/thriller, it fails in all three areas. But combined with a good cast, they barely get away with it.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

06/29/20

Full Review

hardy c

Wow. To think Nicole Kidman, a future Oscar winner, would be in a film this bad is frankly downright depressing. The main blame falls on the director, who had no sense of drama, pace or structure. But the "leading man" was made of wood, and the script lacked imagination, flair or passion. The one redeeming value, and the only thing that kept me watching, was Kidman's sublime beauty and the sex scenes she was in. I was impressed with her command of Russian though. Avoid this one even if it's on cable.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

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Jez Butterworth

Director

Nicole Kidman

Nadia

Ben Chaplin

John Buckingham

Vincent Cassel

Alexei

Mathieu Kassovitz

Yuri

Kate Evans

Clare

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Lisa Schwarzbaum

Entertainment Weekly

Rated: B-

Sep 7, 2011

Full Review

Nell Minow

Common Sense Media

Uneven thriller isn't for kids. Kidman's great.

Rated: 3/5

Dec 22, 2010

Full Review

Empire Magazine

Rated: 3/5

Dec 30, 2006

Full Review

Richard Crouse

Richard Crouse

It's a bit of a mess, but is saved by Chaplin's sad sack portrayal of the love sick John.

Rated: 3/5

Jan 31, 2021

Full Review

Cole Smithey

ColeSmithey.com

There are enough well layered performances in director/co-writer Jez Butterworth's "Birthday Girl" to all but compensate for the film's inept noir flirtations between romantic farce and theft thriller.

Rated: B-

Aug 25, 2009

Full Review

Mark Halverson

Sacramento News & Review

Rated: 3/5

Aug 7, 2008

Full Review

Read all reviews

Synopsis

John (Ben Chaplin) is a mild-mannered banker who has never been lucky in love. Fed up with waiting for the right girl to come along, John takes a chance on a Russian mail-order bride arranged via the Internet. His Internet love connection is the enigmatic Nadia (Nicole Kidman). When Nadia's Russian cousins, Yuri and Alexei, turn up unexpectedly to celebrate her birthday, John's life is turned upside down as he learns the truth behind their relationship and is taken on an adventure.

Director: Jez Butterworth
Executive Producer: Paul Webster, Julie Goldstein, Colin Leventhal, Sydney Pollack
Screenwriter: Jez Butterworth, Tom Butterworth
Distributor: Miramax Films
Production Co: Mirage Enterprises, HAL Films
Rating: R (Sexual Content|Language)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Feb 1, 2002, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 7, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $4.9M
Sound Mix: Dolby Stereo, Dolby Digital, Dolby A, Dolby SR
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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