With its lovely images of wintertime Paris and its lyrical Michel Legrand music, La Bu^che does take the cake.
80
Village VoiceAmy Taubin
Village VoiceAmy Taubin
By turns hilarious and wounding.
80
Washington PostMichael O'Sullivan
Washington PostMichael O'Sullivan
A confection that is ultimately better because of its bitterness.
75
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
The fine cast helps an old-fashioned screenplay seem reasonably fresh most of the time.
70
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
The plot turns on the complicated lives of the daughters, who are played by Sabine Azema, Emmanuelle Beart, and Charlotte Gainsbourg; they, Fabian, and Rich are the main reasons for seeing this picture.
60
L.A. WeeklyElla Taylor
L.A. WeeklyElla Taylor
Sweet but slight pièce de fluff.
50
New York PostJonathan Foreman
New York PostJonathan Foreman
Engaging in a soap operatic, rather glib way.
50
San Francisco ChronicleEdward Guthmann
San Francisco ChronicleEdward Guthmann
Sweet and insubstantial -- just like the French Christmas cake for which it's named.
Not likely to win any hearts or minds this holiday season, La Bûche finally scores points by virtue of its inoffensiveness: Relax, pour a cuppa nog, and watch somebody else muck up the holidays for once.