The OrangesMovie Reviews

So-so
Avg. Critic Score: 46 out of 100 Mixed or average reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
15 Iffy for 15+
Read Common Sense Media review

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

  • 80
    NPR | Ella Taylor

    What makes you sit up straight is that The Oranges takes seriously everyone's unhappiness, including the home-wrecker's, without letting anyone off the hook of responsibility for their own becalmed misery. Read full review

  • 75
    San Francisco Chronicle | Mick LaSalle

    The movie has a saving grace in that it breaks formula. Its concerns are not the usual movie concerns, and it takes what might have been a standard plot in some unexpected directions. Read full review

  • 63
    Boston Globe | Ty Burr

    Maybe The Oranges does represent a middle-age male fantasy, but Laurie lets you see its pitfalls as well as its pleasures. Read full review

  • 63
    New York Post | Lou Lumenick

    While there are laughs, the farcical elements of The Oranges are not presented with sufficient discipline to live up to the full potential of its cast. But as a seven-year veteran of the New Jersey suburban experience, I can testify that it nails the milieu's specifics. Read full review

  • 58
    Entertainment Weekly | Owen Gleiberman

    What starts off as a neighborhood scandal becomes a liberating thing for everyone involved - an attitude that seems as if it's trying to be oh so European, and might have been had the director, Julian Farino, not been working so hard to convince us of the Deep Inner Goodness of everyone involved. Read full review

  • 50
    The Globe and Mail (Toronto) | Liam Lacey

    A comedy about a middle-aged dad who has an affair with his neighbour's daughter, The Oranges does not taste freshly squeezed. Read full review

  • 50
    St. Louis Post-Dispatch | Joe Williams

    While it claims to be exported from New Jersey, The Oranges is peddling an alien motto: When life hands you lemons, fuhgeddaboudit. Read full review

  • 50
    Chicago Tribune | Michael Phillips

    The result is a placid tale of impulses running wild. Farino is a smooth operator, but he puts little on screen that feels like life, as opposed to a middle-of-the-road indie. Read full review

  • 50
    Washington Post | Michael O'Sullivan

    When the jokes work, it's for a simple reason: The four actors playing the couples are seasoned veterans of film comedy (although each is more than capable of handling dramatic roles, as well). Read full review

  • 40
    New York Daily News | Elizabeth Weitzman

    Even the actors seem disconnected, with only Leighton Meester - who has the most to prove - working to create a distinguishable character. Read full review

View more reviews for The Oranges on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says Iffy for 15+ Mature dramedy doesn't deliver on interesting premise.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that The Oranges hits some interesting notes about life, marriage, and more, but much of the material may be too heavy for younger teens. The plot centers around an adult who falls for his best friend's daughter, who happens to have been his own daughter's childhood pal. There isn't any nudity (though viewers do hear the sounds of a sex toy in use), but the situations between them are cringe-worthy. There's some swearing ("f--k," "s--t," etc.) and drinking, and a twentysomething woman is shown smoking pot.
  • Families can talk about The Oranges' central premise. Do you think it's true that sometimes the most unpopular decisions, the most destructive ones, can lead to enlightenment? Happiness?
  • What attracts Nina to David, and vice versa? Does the movie condone their choices? Does it address how people outside of a marriage are affected by their indiscretion?
  • Are the characters -- and their choices -- realistic? What do you think the main take-away is intended to be?
The good stuff
  • message true1 Positive messages: Your entire world can fall apart, but chaos can ultimately lead to fulfillment -- if you can ride the chaos until it's run its course. That said, there doesn't seem to be much empathy here for collateral damage as the result of bad decisions.
  • rolemodels true0 Positive role models: Nobody is a "bad guy," but most of the lead characters -- except perhaps for Terry and Vanessa -- seem to be unaware of the damage they're causing.
What to watch for
  • violence false2 Violence: A woman drives her car onto her lawn in rage, smashing Christmas decorations. She also slaps a young woman. A man lunges after his friend in a fit of anger.
  • sex false3 Sexy stuff: Kissing and heavy flirting between a married man and his friend's daughter. One scene shows two pairs of feet under covers, with a sex toy audible. A girl walks into a room and catches her boyfriend cheating, though viewers don't see anything actually happening. Sexual references.
  • language false4 Language: Some use of words including "f--k," "s--t," "a--hole," "bitch," "damn," and more.
  • consumerism false2 Consumerism: One character likes to buy a lot of gadgets; viewers don't actually see a lot of labels, but it's clear that buying them and having them is what makes him happy. A woman works at Huffman Koos furniture store, and their logo is everywhere.
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false3 Drinking, drugs and smoking: A twentysomething woman is shown once with a pipe, smoking pot. Some social drinking at parties.
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.