‘The Phoenician Scheme' Reviews: Do Critics Buy Into Wes Anderson's Comedy?
Michael Cera, Benicio Del Toro and Mia Threapleton in "The Phoenician Scheme."
Director Wes Anderson's The Phoenician Scheme — starring Benicio Del Toro, Tom Hanks, Scarlett Johansson and Bryan Cranston — is now in theaters. How are critics receiving the film?
Rated PG-13, The Phoenician Scheme opened in limited release on May 31 before expanding to a wide release on Friday. Also starring Michael Cera, Riz Ahmed, Mathieu Amalric, Richard Ayoade, Jeffrey Wright, Benedict Cumberbatch, Rupert Friend and Hope Davis, The Phoenician Scheme held its world premiere at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival in May.
The logline for The Phoenician Scheme reads, "The story of a family and a family business." Featuring a screenplay by Anderson and Roman Coppola, the offbeat comedy follows the story of European businessman Zsa-zsa Korda (Del Toro) and his only daughter and sole heir, a nun named Sister Liesel (Threapleton), who are each being targeted by assassins and schemers.
As of Friday, Rotten Tomatoes critics have collectively given The Phoenician Scheme a 78% 'fresh' rating based on 185 reviews.
The RT Critics Consensus for the film reads, 'A caper made with all the intricacy of a Rube Goldberg machine, The Phoenician Scheme doesn't deviate from Wes Anderson's increasingly ornate style but delivers the formula with mannered delicacy.'
Audiences on RT gave the film a 73% 'fresh' score on the critic aggregation site's Popcornmeter based on 100-plus verified user ratings.
Kyle Smith of The Wall Street Journal is among the top critics on RT who gives The Phoenician Scheme a 'fresh' rating on RT, writing, 'Given that The Phoenician Scheme essentially concludes by saying, as some of the director's other movies did, 'Forgive your ridiculous dad for his failings,' its major attraction is the whimsy with which it is decorated, or suffused, or infested.'
Also giving The Phoenician Scheme a 'fresh' take on RT is Ann Hornaday of the Washington Post, who writes, "At its fleeting best — in its meditation on the transactional and the transcendent — this one feels like it's reaching for something more than surface charm."
In addition, Justin Chang of The New Yorker gives the film a 'fresh' rating on RT, albeit with some minor reservations, writing, 'The result is more digestible, though also less moving, than Anderson's recent Asteroid City, but it does have a stealth emotional weapon in [Mia] Threapleton's Liesl, who exudes the intelligence and self-possession of a young Anna Karina.'
Coleman Spilde of Salon is among the top critics on RT who gives The Phoenician Scheme a 'rotten' rating, writing in his summary, 'The resulting product is just that: a product, with all of the matte pastel appeal of Anderson's oeuvre, yet little of its memorable charm.'
Dana Stevens of Slate also gives The Phoenician Scheme a 'rotten' rating on RT, writing, 'For all its exquisite boxes-within-boxes compositions and cleverly designed sets, this whole movie unfolded for me as if behind a thick pane of emotion-proof glass.'
Nicholas Barber of the BBC wasn't impressed by the film, either, writing in his 'rotten' take on RT, 'Some directors boast that they make the films that they want to see, and they don't care about pleasing anyone else. In the case of The Phoenician Scheme, it feels as if Anderson and his team were enjoying it more than audiences ever will.'
The Phoenician Scheme is now playing in theaters in wide release.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Big comedian turns the tables on locals ahead of upcoming gig
Comedian and actor Omid Djalili has taken to social media in an attempt to find out what Swindon locals really think of their hometown. The stand-up comic is set to bring his new show, NAMASTE, to Swindon when he performs at the Wyvern Theatre on Thursday, June 26. But before he makes the trip to the town, Omid is on the hunt for the inside jokes within the Swindon community that could end up being a hit on stage. He posed the question in a community Facebook group: "What's funny about life in Swindon that only locals understand?" Responses so far may not have given the comedian much to work with on his search for material ahead of his Swindon gig, with commenters largely choosing to share their thoughts on the town centre. Recommended reading Town centre homes left without water after pipe bursts Public urged to not approach wanted man who may be in Wiltshire Man found guilty of sexually assaulting two women on same night out Omid last performed in Swindon as part of his nationwide tour of his previous stand-up show The Good Times in February 2022. Tickets for his upcoming performance are available from £34 via A description of the show states: "The Persian Comedy Powerhouse performs his critically acclaimed new show NAMASTE where Omid peacefully bows to his inner anger and unleashes a torrent of comedic vitriol upon the current state of this dangerously messed up planet. "No government gets a green card. No tyrant avoids a take down. No audience member leaves the theatre with an ounce of laughter left in them. You have been warned."
New York Times
3 hours ago
- New York Times
Champagne shades: The NBA-inspired trend that's taking over soccer celebrations
Trophies and rings are the renowned physical marks of success in American sports, but there's an accessory that has become just as prevalent in championship-winning locker rooms as the shine of platinum or gold: 'champagne goggles'. Champagne has a long-term association with sporting glory. A bottle of Moet & Chandon, from one of the world's most prominent champagne houses, was passed to Italian motorsports driver Tazio Nuvolari after winning the Vanderbilt Cup in 1936. By 1969, honouring success with a bottle of champagne became part of the formal victory celebrations in Formula One, establishing a relationship between triumph in the sporting arena and sparkling wine. Advertisement It turned out to be a lasting one, with this niche motorsport tradition spreading across the sporting sphere in the United States and Europe. During the Premier League era, it was standard practice for man-of-the-match recipients to be handed a large bottle of champagne as a prize until 2012, when the league switched to a trophy in acknowledgement of the multi-faith diversity of its players. Still, drinking and spraying champagne to mark sporting success has remained, with soccer clubs Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool even bringing non-alcoholic versions into the locker room to ensure everyone could participate in celebrating their respective Europa League and Premier League successes. Until recently, the 'champagne goggles' phenomenon was an entirely American one. However, it's inspired a trend that has been adopted by some of soccer's biggest names — and sometimes, champagne isn't even involved. It's unclear where the trend started but baseball hall-of-famer David 'Big Papi' Ortiz is probably the first influential figure to bring goggles to the locker room. The designated hitter was a star of the famous 2004 Boston Red Sox team that swept the St Louis Cardinals 4-0 in the World Series to end their 86-year wait for a title. As is customary in the MLB, they celebrated that triumph with champagne but long before ski goggles became the champion's eyewear du jour, Ortiz protected his eyes with swimming goggles. According to former team-mate Torii Hunter, Ortiz learned a lesson from their divisional title in 2002 with his previous club, the Minnesota Twins, where they celebrated without eye protection. As reported on the MLB website, 'their eyes burned enough from the champagne that they still hurt the next day'. Corks flying around the locker room at up to 30mph present a real danger, too. In 2022, Eritrean cyclist Biniam Girmay suffered an eye injury when a prosecco cork hit him after he won the 10th stage of the Giro d'Italia. The injury forced him to withdraw from the competition. As players looked to avoid the sting of the sparkling wine in their eyes or protect themselves from flying corks, 'champagne goggles' became common in World Series-winning locker rooms. However, the key crossover moment, perhaps the watershed juncture in its eventual international appeal, wouldn't happen until 2013. Despite falling well behind the NFL in viewership and interest in the United States, the NBA is comfortably America's most influential league internationally. There is arguably no greater driver of fashion and culture in world sport than the NBA and its superstar players. Follow the Club World Cup on The Athletic this summer… As the Miami Heat's 'Big Three' (LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh) celebrated their first title together with a locker-room champagne shower, veteran Ray Allen protected his eyes with a pair of Oakley ski goggles. Allen, who won championships with the Heat and the Boston Celtics in a hall-of-fame career, is often credited as the player who popularised goggles in NBA locker-room celebrations. Advertisement Now, they're essential for any equipment manager whose team are on the verge of a championship. After lifting the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy in 2022, Steph Curry celebrated while wearing ski googles from Under Armour, the shoe and sportswear company he has been signed to since 2013. Some of his Golden State Warriors team-mates wore Moet-branded goggles, while others donned black-and-gold variations designed by the NBA for the occasion. Giannis Antetokounmpo and James celebrated their recent championship successes with the Milwaukee Bucks and the Los Angeles Lakers, with pairs made by Nike. Last year, Jordan Brand athlete Jayson Tatum had a custom-made pair with 'champ' written behind a large Jordan logo on the lens as the Boston Celtics toasted becoming NBA champions. Primarily associated with basketball shoes and apparel, ski goggles made by Jordan are not available to the public. What started as a way to protect athletes from the hazards of champagne celebrations has become a prominent way for brands to advertise in the most significant moments. Now, the trend is spreading to Europe in the form of 'champagne shades'. While Ortiz and Allen were the pioneers of baseball and basketball respectively, Barcelona and Spain's 17-year-old prodigy Lamine Yamal (main image) is leading a generation of players wearing sunglasses in title celebrations. Celebrating Barcelona's Copa Del Rey final win over arch-rivals Real Madrid in April, Yamal donned two pairs of sunglasses at once as he carried the trophy on the pitch at the Estadio La Cartuja. In recent weeks, Serie A MVP Scott McTominay was pictured with the Italian trophy wearing a pair of sunglasses, as were Napoli team-mates Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Romelu Lukaku. Many of the Tottenham group brought ski glasses to Bilbao for the Europa League final and wore them as they celebrated with the trophy in the locker room afterwards. Most recently, Paris Saint-Germain duo Desire Doue and Achraf Hakimi were pictured holding the Champions League trophy wearing sunglasses after hammering Inter 5-0 in the final last weekend. Advertisement Perhaps the most illustrative example of the NBA's impact on European soccer was Bayern Munich star Michael Olise not only putting on a pair of sunglasses to celebrate their Bundesliga title win but pairing them with a set of 'grills', a type of dental jewellery worn over teeth popularised by American hip-hop artists. NBA and hip-hop is a marriage that has transcended eras and generations, from Allen Iverson's rap-inspired attire to nine-time All-Star Milwaukee Bucks guard Damian Lillard, who has released several studio albums under Dame D.O.L.L.A.. Yamal, born four years after 50 Cent released Get Rich or Die Tryin' in 2003, cites the New York rapper as his favourite. Even before Yamal's professional debut, Barcelona were one of the first high-profile soccer teams to document players arriving at the stadium in their pre-game outfits, taking influence from American sports. The trend has evolved from Ortiz's swimming goggles to luxury shades, with players sporting them in moments of celebration — and not necessarily always when the champagne corks are flying, with footballers wearing sunglasses both on the pitch in the immediate aftermath of a trophy win or during post-victory parades. The custom is a way to show off a slice of their personal style, similar to Iverson's popularisation of the shooting sleeve or Jimmy Butler's ninja-style headband. Butler, who now plays with Curry on the Warriors, is a big soccer fan and is friends with Brazilian star duo Neymar and Vinicius Junior. In an interview with the Associated Press, he described soccer players as 'the coolest people in the world'. Led by Yamal, these 'champagne shades' are yet another example of how soccer's new generation is unashamedly taking inspiration from the American sports' swagger and adding their own style and flavour to it.
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
'I Don't Understand You': Nick Kroll, Andrew Rannells movie inspired by adoption fraud story from filmmakers
While Nick Kroll and Andrew Rannells voice some pretty hysterical characters in Big Mouth, they're now sharing the screen in the horror-comedy I Don't Understand You (now in theatres). Written and directed by married filmmakers David Joseph Craig and Brian Crano, the movie had a particularly interesting starting point. In I Don't Understand You Kroll and Rannells play a couple, Dom and Cole, who have just fallen victim to adoption fraud, but things are looking up. A pregnant woman named Candace (Amanda Seyfried) thinks they're the right fit for the family to adopt her child. But just before that happens, Dom and Cole take a romantic Italian vacation. Things take a turn when they get lost outside of Rome, trying to find a restaurant. As their stranded in an unknown location, the trip turns to bloody Italian chaos. As Craig and Crano identified, the first portion of the movie, up until the couple gets stuck going to the restaurant, is quite close to the real experience the filmmakers had. "We were adopting a child. We had been through an adoption scam, which was heartbreaking, and then had a completely different experience when we matched with the birth mother of our son," Crano told Yahoo. "But we found out that we were going to have him literally like two days before we were going on our 10th anniversary trip." "And we were like, 'Shit, should we not go?' But we decided to do it, and you're so emotionally opened up and vulnerable in that moment that it felt like a very similar experience to being in a horror movie, even though it's a joyful kind of situation." A key element of I Don't Understand You is that feeling of shock once the story turns from a romance-comedy to something much bloodier. It feels abrupt, but it's that jolt of the contrast that also makes that moment feel particularly impactful to watch. "Our sense of filmmaking is so ... based on surprise," Craig said. "As a cinephile, my main decade to go to are outlandish '90s movies, because they just take you to a different space, and as long as you have a reality to the characters that are already at hand, you can kind of take them wherever." "Personally, the situation of adoption was a constant jolt [from] one emotion to another that we felt like that was the right way to tell a story like this, which was literally, fall in love with a couple and then send them into a complete nightmare. And I think you can only get that if you do it abruptly, and kind of manically." While Rannells and Kroll have that funny and sweet chemistry the story needs, these were roles that weren't written for them. But it works because Crano and Craig know how to write in each other's voices so well, that's where a lot of the dialogue is pulled from. Additionally, the filmmakers had the "creative trust" in each other to pitch any idea, as random as it may have seemed, to see if it could work for the film. "When you're with somebody you've lived with for 15 years, there is very little that I can do that would embarrass me in front of David," Crano said. "So that level of creative freedom is very generative." "We were able to screw up in front of each other a lot without it affecting the rest of our day," Craig added. Of course, with the language barrier between the filmmakers and the Italian cast, it was a real collaboration to help make the script feel authentic for those characters. "All of the Italian actors and crew were very helpful in terms of being like, 'Well I feel like my character is from the south and wouldn't say it in this way.' And helped us build the language," Crano said. "And it was just a very trusting process, because neither of us are fluent enough to have that kind of dialectical specificity that you would in English." "It was super cool to just be watching an actor perform a scene that you've written in English that has been translated a couple of times, but you still completely understand it, just by the generosity of their performance." For Craig, he has an extensive resume of acting roles, including projects like Boy Erased and episodes of Dropout. Among the esteemed alumni of the Upright Citizens Brigade, he had a writing "itch" for a long time, and was "in awe" of Crano's work as a director. "Truthfully, in a weird way, it felt like such a far off, distant job, because everything felt really difficult, and I think with this project it just made me understand that it was just something I truly love and truly wanted to do," Craig said. "I love the idea of creative control and being in a really collaborative situation. Acting allows you to do that momentarily, but I think like every other job that you can do on a film is much longer lasting, and I think that's something I was truly seeking." For Crano, he also grew up as a theatre kid, moving on to writing plays in college. "The first time I got laughs for jokes I was like, 'Oh, this is it. Let's figure out how to do this,'" he said. "I was playwriting in London, my mom got sick in the States, so I came back, and I started writing a movie, because I was living in [Los Angeles] and I thought, well there are no playwrights in L.A., I better write a movie.'" That's when Crano found a mentor in Peter Friedlander, who's currently the head of scripted series, U.S. and Canada, at Netflix. "I had written this feature and ... we met with a bunch of directors, great directors, directors I truly admire, and they would be like, 'It should be like this.' And I'd be like, 'Yeah, that's fine, but maybe it's more like this.' And after about five of those Peter was like, 'You're going to direct it. We'll make some shorts. We'll see if you can do it.' He just sort of saw it," Crano recalled. "It's nice to be seen in any capacity for your ability, but [I started to realize] this is not so different from writing, it's just sort of writing and physical space and storytelling, and I love to do it. ... It is a very difficult job, because it requires so much money to test the theory, to even see if you can." But being able to work together on I Don't Understand You, the couple were able to learn things about and from each other through the filmmaking process. "David is lovely to everyone," Crano said. "He is much nicer than I am at a sort of base level, and makes everyone feel that they can perform at the best of their ability. And that's a really good lesson." "Brian literally doesn't take anything personally," Craig added. "Almost to a fault." "And it's very helpful in an environment where you're getting a lot of no's, to have a partner who's literally like, 'Oh, it's just no for now. Great, let's move on. Let's find somebody who's going to say yes, maybe we'll come back to that no later.' I'm the pessimist who's sitting in the corner going, 'Somebody just rejected me, I don't know what to do.' ... It just makes you move, and that's very helpful for me."
