New York Minute 2004

John Monaghan, Detroit Free Press: OK, it's not like I'm ready to join the local chapter of the Ashley and Mary-Kate fan club, but I admit it: I kind of liked New York Minute. Read more

Mark Caro, Chicago Tribune: The sense of calculation is overwhelming, down to the loose threads on Roxy's Metallica T-shirt. Read more

Ted Fry, Seattle Times: Even when it feels forced, the Olsen twins' appeal -- I freely admit -- remains a two-for-one bargain. Read more

Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper: ... an awful film. Read more

Melinda Ennis, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: So strictly amateur-hour that it could end up as a camp classic. Read more

Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: For those not part of the Olsen industrial complex, New York Minute often feels creepy and lecherous, like it was made by a family 'uncle.' Read more

Bruce Westbrook, Houston Chronicle: It's a charming, zestful romp. Read more

Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post: Put the blame on a script that maims the movie's middling intentions by playing New York City's ethnic vibrancy as either obvious joke or more obvious menace. Read more

Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: More bogus than a Gucci bag for sale on a Fifth Avenue sidewalk. Read more

Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail: As coy sleaze goes, the new Olsen twins' movie doesn't match Britney Spears's Crossroads, but it comes close. Read more

Nancy Churnin, Dallas Morning News: There's a sense that it's straining to reach the core mom-daughter audience that made Freaky Friday a success last year. Read more

Scott Foundas, L.A. Weekly: A fire-sale slapstick scenario. Read more

Gene Seymour, Newsday: A coy, frantic attempt at screwball comedy, lightly seasoned and more than a little gummy. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: The story is supposed to be about the twins' adventures in Manhattan. Mostly it's an excuse for the two to visit different neighborhoods and the script to drag in every stereotype the writers can think of. Read more

Jami Bernard, New York Daily News: Carefully designed for maximum blandness. Read more

A.O. Scott, New York Times: Mary-Kate and Ashley sprint through Manhattan on the run from a truant officer and a limo driver in this crisp and professional teenage caper comedy. Read more

Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: Pure pablum and tiresome in the bargain. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: A textbook example of a film created as a 'vehicle' but without any ideas about where the vehicle should go. Read more

Ruthe Stein, San Francisco Chronicle: Falls somewhere between a home video and a full-blown movie. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: As sterile and devoid of personality as a mall parking lot. Read more

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Read more

Susan Walker, Toronto Star: To say that New York Minute is a vehicle for the Olsen sisters is perhaps a slight to four-wheeled conveyances of all kinds. Read more

Time Out: Read more

Mike Clark, USA Today: Even more insipid than you'd guess, Minute is infrequently made bearable by the cutie-quotient of its richer-than-sin leads. Read more

Brian Lowry, Variety: An off-putting assault of too-screwball comedy with glints of pathos. Read more

Ben Kenigsberg, Village Voice: The whole project reeks of vanity. Read more

Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: The effect isn't just frenetic, unfunny and dull. It's kind of creepy. Read more