A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy

PG

Released Jul 16, 1982

1 hr. 30 min.

Comedy

List

74%

27 Reviews

Tomatometer

57%

5,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Andrew (Woody Allen), an eccentric inventor, joins his wife, Adrian (Mary Steenburgen), for a weekend at the New England country estate of her cousin, Leopold (Jose Ferrer), a wealthy charmer. They are soon joined by a playboy physician (Tony Roberts) and his spirited younger girlfriend (Julie Hagerty). As the long summer weekend wears on, sexual sparks begin to fly between Andrew and Leopold's young fiancée, Ariel (Mia Farrow), with unforeseen consequences for everyone.

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Critics Consensus

It may not Woody Allen's best work, but the frothy, fun A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy is still worth a look.

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dave s

Andrew and Adrian (Woody Allen, Mary Steenburgen) are having marital problems, but have invited her cousin, an arrogant intellectual (Jose Ferrer) and his bride-to-be (Mia Farrow) to their country estate to be married. Also invited are Andrew's friend Maxwell (Tony Roberts), an exceptionally horny doctor, and his attractive nurse (Julie Haggerty). The attempted infidelities, failed seductions and broken rendezvous are fun but at times tend to feel a bit slight in Allen's A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy. What makes this worth watching is Allen's direction, which is often nothing short of fantastic – some great tracking shots, plenty of long takes, effective cinematography courtesy of Gordon Willis and some perfectly blocked shots, making it one of Allen's best-looking films. What it may lack in substance, it makes up for in style.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Just an alright entry from Woody Allen Some of the genius is missing here This does all the laughs he goes for in a visually charming, sweetly paced picture, yet it comes off as a disappointment because he doesn't go for more It just could've been something brighter, funnier and less draggy in spots The cast is good with a lovely time period to draw from Allen should've been more ambitious though

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/22/23

Full Review

william k

Light-hearted and inconsequential, Woody Allen plays around with Bergman's Sommarnattens leende, all very well made, good dialogue and a capable cast, it's enjoyable but without much substance.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

robert r

Writer/director/performer Woody Allen explores previously fruitful thematic elements in this first of a 13-film-long collaboration between himself and Mia Farrow. However, where other films in that celebrated list — like "Radio Days" & "The Purple Rose Of Cairo" — impressed me greatly, "A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy" greatly disappoints. I'm not sure if it's the stuffiness of the period, the flimsiness of the character work or the oddly placed sci-fi/fantasy(?) elements littered throughout, but I just couldn't invest myself in this narrative. The premise of three couples systematically rendezvousing with one another in secret seems not only like the plot for a decent movie, but an even better one for a Woody Allen movie. In reality, I just didn't care much for any of what was happening in this. Also, I guess Mia Farrow got nominated for a Razzie for her performance? I mean, she's absolutely put forth better work in her career, but, Jesus Christ, it wasn't that bad.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A lot themes of Allen are in display here. Not a remarkable movie but completely watchable. Highlights: the scenes without cut and the amount of dialogue in them, kitchen joke.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/27/23

Full Review

Audience Member

This is a fine film, well-written, and like Shakespeare's play containing a confusion of lovers and a magic wood. An especially fine performance from Jose Ferrer.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/16/23

Full Review

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Woody Allen

Director

Woody Allen

Andrew

Mary Steenburgen

Adrian

Mia Farrow

Ariel

José Ferrer

Leopold

Julie Hagerty

Dulcy

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Joe Pollack

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

The problem is that with all that material to draw from, Allen should have come up with something brighter, funnier and less draggy.

Nov 11, 2021

Full Review

Bruce McCabe

Boston Globe

It's Allen's refusal to bask in the spotlight -- his willingness and determination to preserve and enhance the ensemble -- that makes Sex Comedy the delight that it is.

Apr 27, 2018

Full Review

Dave Kehr

Chicago Reader

It's funny and sweet in spots, though the light moments get lost in the haze of imitation and ambitiousness.

Jul 3, 2008

Full Review

Molly Haskell

Vogue

A welcome sign that Allen has recovered his good humor after the corrosive misanthropy of Stardust Memories.

Feb 27, 2020

Full Review

Diego Galán

El Pais (Spain)

The film is flawless, but Woody Allen's genius is absent. [Full Review in Spanish]

Aug 26, 2019

Full Review

Matt Brunson

Creative Loafing

It's all very pleasant but also all very slight, with the humor and the romance both kept at too low a simmer.

Rated: 2.5/4

Sep 12, 2015

Full Review

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Synopsis

Andrew (Woody Allen), an eccentric inventor, joins his wife, Adrian (Mary Steenburgen), for a weekend at the New England country estate of her cousin, Leopold (Jose Ferrer), a wealthy charmer. They are soon joined by a playboy physician (Tony Roberts) and his spirited younger girlfriend (Julie Hagerty). As the long summer weekend wears on, sexual sparks begin to fly between Andrew and Leopold's young fiancée, Ariel (Mia Farrow), with unforeseen consequences for everyone.

Director: Woody Allen
Production Co: Jack Rollins and Charles Joffe, Orion Pictures
Rating: PG
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 16, 1982, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 16, 2008

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