Frost/NixonMovie Reviews

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Avg. Critic Score: 80 out of 100 Universal acclaim Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
14 OK for kids 14+
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 100
    San Francisco Chronicle | Mick LaSalle

    Morgan finds the right elements of action and character through which to make history leap off the page. Read full review

  • 100
    USA Today | Claudia Puig

    It's hard to imagine how a film built around one-on-one interviews could be entertaining, but Frost/Nixon could not be more enthralling. Read full review

  • 100
    Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert

    Frank Langella and Michael Sheen do not attempt to mimic their characters, but to embody them. Read full review

  • 91
    Entertainment Weekly | Lisa Schwarzbaum

    Surges with an energy and visual verve that improve the play and enhance the themes of dramatist Peter Morgan's script. Read full review

  • 90
    Los Angeles Times | Kenneth Turan

    The result is involving, engrossing cinema -- more thrilling, in fact, than Howard's "The Da Vinci Code" -- filmmaking of a type rarely seen anymore and sorely missed. Read full review

  • 88
    Rolling Stone | Peter Travers

    Director Ron Howard has turned Peter Morgan's stage success into a grabber of a movie laced with tension, stinging wit and potent human drama. Read full review

  • 80
    Washington Post | Philip Kennicott

    Neither the title nor the subject matter prepares you for the pure fun of Frost/Nixon. Read full review

  • 70
    The Hollywood Reporter | Kirk Honeycutt

    Less a political movie than a boxing film without the gloves. Read full review

  • 70
    The New York Times | Manohla Dargis

    Stories of lost crowns lend themselves to drama, but not necessarily audience-pleasing entertainments, which may explain why Frost/Nixon registers as such a soothing, agreeably amusing experience, more palliative than purgative. Read full review

  • 70
    Variety | Todd McCarthy

    Frank Langella's meticulous performance will generate the sort of attention that will attract serious filmgoers. Read full review

View more reviews for Frost/Nixon on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says OK for kids 14+ Talky, play-based political drama sheds light on history.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that although kids may not be clamoring to see this talky, fairly intense political thriller, it serves as an informative introduction for teens (and adults) who want to know more about Watergate and how it brought down a sitting president. That said, the movie isn't 100 percent representative of real-life events, so more background/research may be needed. The main content of concern is a fair bit of swearing (mostly in the second half) and some heated back and forth between characters. There's also some archival footage from Vietnam, some social drinking and smoking, and a little bit of ogling/innuendo.
  • Families can talk about the film's historical accuracy. Why might filmmakers bend the facts when making a movie based on real life? How could you find out more about Nixon and Watergate if you wanted to? Parents and teens can also discuss why they think Nixon agreed to the interview with Frost in the first place. What did he gain from it? Do you think media exposure/coverage generally helps or hurts politicians? Why? How would you describe the relationship between the media and political worlds?
The good stuff
  • message true0 Positive messages: A man takes on a political giant and manages neither to applaud nor completely vilify him -- but rather to show him in all his complexity. At first, he appears fairly cavalier but soon enough finds a sense of purpose.
What to watch for
  • violence false1 Violence: The movie's central dynamic is a verbal, not physical, joust. But some archival footage used in the film depicts men, women, and children being killed and maimed in Vietnam. Some yelling/screaming.
  • sex false2 Sex: Mild ogling of one female character. A man wakes up next to a woman who appears to be naked, though no sensitive body parts are seen. A man asks another if he has "fornicated."
  • language false3 Language: "Hell," "damn," "bitch," and, toward the end, a number of "f--k"s.
  • consumerism false0 Consumerism: Not an issue
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false2 Drinking, drugs and smoking: Some smoking and drinking in social situations.
An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology. © Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.

Looking for more reviews? Movies.com Critics Say:

Dave White

4.5

Dave White Profile See Dave White's Profile

...entertaining and timely Read full review See Dave White's on MOVIENAME on Movies.com

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