54
Metascore
10 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 90VarietyVarietyAided greatly by an expert film adaptation by its playwright, Willy Russell, Gilbert has come up with an irresistible story about a lively, lower-class British woman hungering for an education and the rather, staid, degenerating English professor who reluctantly provides her with one.
- 88Movie NationRoger MooreMovie NationRoger MooreOne of the finest films of the ’80s, a high point for Caine, Walters and Gilbert and a movie I think about all the time because it literally changed my life.
- 80EmpireIan NathanEmpireIan NathanLewis Gilbert, and two career best performances from his leading actors, give this film such energy it leaves the pleasant aroma of life and possibility.
- 75TV Guide MagazineTV Guide MagazineThis is a poignant if predictable take on the English class system, buoyed by an effervescent performance from Walters.
- 67Christian Science MonitorDavid SterrittChristian Science MonitorDavid SterrittThe plot is ''Pygmalion'' warmed over, but Michael Caine and Julie Walters give sparkling performances, and director Lewis Gilbert keeps the action humming along.
- 63The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Jay ScottThe Globe and Mail (Toronto)Jay ScottThe achievement of Educating Rita is a function of the distinguished performances, the agreeably archetypal situation and the scissor-sharp lines. [23 Sep 1983]
- 60Chicago ReaderDave KehrChicago ReaderDave KehrThe film doesn't transcend its genre, but it's an honorable achievement within it.
- 50Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertEducating Rita, which might have been a charming human comedy, disintegrated into a forced march through a formula relationship.
- 30The New York TimesJanet MaslinThe New York TimesJanet MaslinThe essentially two-character play has been opened up to the point that it includes a variety of settings and subordinate figures, but it never approaches anything lifelike.
- 25Boston GlobeBoston GlobeIf you were ever curious how a bad director can destroy the work of two talented actors and a slight, but funny, script, you need look no further than Educating Rita. [28 Oct 1983]