Damsels in Distress

PG-13

Released Apr 6, 2012

1 hr. 39 min.

Comedy

List

75%

142 Reviews

Tomatometer

39%

10,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

At Seven Oaks College, three dynamic coeds -- group leader Violet (Greta Gerwig), principled Rose (Megalyn Echikunwoke) and sexy Heather (Carrie MacLemore) -- set out to change the boorish male atmosphere and rescue their fellow students from depression, grunge and low standards. They spot Lily (Analeigh Tipton) at a student orientation and welcome her into their group. However, when the gals become romantically entangled with a series of men, the fallout threatens their friendship and sanity.

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Critics Consensus

Damsels in Distress can sometimes feel mannered and outlandish, but it's redeemed by director Whit Stillman's oddball cleverness and Greta Gerwig's dryly funny performance.

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Audience Member

Damsel in Distress' was, in my opinion, one of the worst films I've seen in a decade. The plot fell flat, and everything about this movie was absolutely horrible.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

09/04/23

Full Review

Gareth v

One of the more intriguing talents in Hollywood, I find Greta Gerwig rather annoying in this movie. The characters I couldn't care about and the jokes were so stilted. Lame effort

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

06/20/23

Full Review

steve d

The script is smart and hilarious. Gerwig is FANTASTIC.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

susan j

Loved most of Whit Stillman's flicks but this one....eeeah. The first 35 minutes were engaging, witty, quirky, and compelling enough - but then it went off the rails into a fantastical-realism parody of itself. It was like Stillman was aiming to make a Wes Anderson film but he's too wry and observational to do that. Wes Anderson has wisps of sadness comingled with sweetness, directness, whimsy and absurdity. Whit Stillman is too much of a realist to pull off something earnest---so, what is meant by Violet (Cloe Sevigny) saying she is determined to learn as many cliches as she can since cliches stacked back to back contain some of the world's finest wisdom. Two college guys in their D-list fraternity, saying literally: "What color's that? Blue? OK, what color's that? Green...huh. And what color's the wall? That's green too? Whoaaa. You know it's not my fault I'm still learning my colors --how should I know the difference between blue and green? Who are you to think yourself to be superior to someone who has not yet grown into their intellect? I may be ignorant. In fact I am. But at least I'm not arrogant." Like...what Whit Stillman doing here? Who are these people supposed to be? It's not surrealism. Not absurdity. Not farce. Not even poking fun at "dumb jocks" or "stoners" or "braindead children of privilege." It's something half-considered, and tiresome. The whole movie is like that--heavy-handed instead of light-hearted. And somehow not unlike eating a underdone cupcake--smells good, looks terrific, gummy, pasty, doesn't taste great, ends up a chore to finish. Which I didn't. After the initial promising 30-35 minutes I was able to force myself to watch another 25, but no more.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Out of the modern romantic comedies from Whit Stillman, this is by far the most eccentric and filled with punching dry humor and sarcasm. Greta Gerwig absolutely carries an already charming script.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/20/23

Full Review

Audience Member

It's very obviously a movie with an acquired taste, which would suggest (and explain) the polarity in the audience reviews.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/08/23

Full Review

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Whit Stillman

Director

Greta Gerwig

Violet Wister

Adam Brody

Charlie Walker

Lio Tipton

Lily

Megalyn Echikunwoke

Rose

Carrie MacLemore

Heather

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J. Hoberman

ARTINFO.com

[Damsels in Distress] is genteel lowbrow farce, with musical comedy aspirations.

Feb 25, 2019

Full Review

Kate Stables

Sight & Sound

Here, both dialogue and plotting are prettily presented but unfocused, and the broadness of the comedy makes the romantic misadventures of Violet and her new recruit Lily appear whisper-thin.

Jul 9, 2018

Full Review

Lisa Rosman

indieWire

The problem is that since all these kids are so blank, only Stillman, as the narrative voice, is in on his many jokes.

Nov 7, 2016

Full Review

Keith Garlington

Keith & the Movies

“Damsels in Distress” certainly can’t be called a traditional Hollywood comedy. But it’s certainly a good one.

Rated: 4.5/5

Aug 20, 2022

Full Review

Richard Propes

TheIndependentCritic.com

You could add Parker Posey, Christina Ricci, and Wes Anderson and still not get a communal circle quite this strange yet incredibly appealing.

Rated: 3.5/4.0

Sep 5, 2020

Full Review

Felicia Feaster

Charleston City Paper

Slight to the point of banality, Damsels in Distress is a fey stab at screwball that comes off as mind-numbingly precious and dull as dirt.

Jan 16, 2020

Full Review

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Synopsis

At Seven Oaks College, three dynamic coeds -- group leader Violet (Greta Gerwig), principled Rose (Megalyn Echikunwoke) and sexy Heather (Carrie MacLemore) -- set out to change the boorish male atmosphere and rescue their fellow students from depression, grunge and low standards. They spot Lily (Analeigh Tipton) at a student orientation and welcome her into their group. However, when the gals become romantically entangled with a series of men, the fallout threatens their friendship and sanity.

Director: Whit Stillman
Screenwriter: Whit Stillman
Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics
Production Co: Westerly Films
Rating: PG-13 (Some Sexual Material|Mature Thematic Content)
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 6, 2012, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 3, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA): $1.0M

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