Metropolitan (1990)
75%RT Audience Score: 54%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 1 Oscar
6 wins & 10 nominations total
Metropolitan gently skewers the young socialite class with a smartly written dramedy whose unique, specific setting yields rich universal truths
Metropolitan is like a time capsule of the 90s, complete with awkward romances, witty banter, and a cast of characters that you can’t help but root for. It’s a movie that makes you wish you were part of the “urban haute bourgeoisie” even though you have no idea what that means. But don’t worry, you’ll be quoting the dialogue for weeks after watching it. So grab a glass of champagne and settle in for a delightful trip down memory lane.
Production Company(ies)
Poly Gram Filmed Entertainment, Spelling Films, International, Blue Parrot
Distributor
New Line Cinema
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
Cornwall, New York, USA
MPAA / Certificate
PG-13
Year of Release
1990
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:1.66 : 1
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Runtime:1h 38m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Aug 3, 1990 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 14, 2006
Genre(s)
Comedy/Drama
Keyword(s)
Metropolitan, Comedy, Drama, PG-13, Whit Stillman, Carolyn Farina, Edward Clements, Chris Eigeman, Taylor Nichols, Allison Parisi, Dylan Hundley, social mobility, Fourier’s socialism, bridge, upper-class society, New York, satire, intellectual humor, Woody Allen, Godard, debut film, Academy Awards, Best Original Script, melancholic, lost generation, purpose, romantic comedy, dialogue-heavy, ensemble cast, debutantes, winter break, trend-following nymphets, dodgy intellectual, literature lover, narcissist, hypocrite, self-awareness, intellectual jokes, accurate, satirical, upper class, socialist beliefs, unhappiness, inheritances, relationships, confusing, indifferent, box office, gross USA, New Line Cinema, streaming, subscription, reviewed by Christopher Orr, reviewed by Jonathan Romney, reviewed by Robert Abele, reviewed by Mike D’Angelo, reviewed by Sam Weisberg, reviewed by Richard Brody, reviewed by Nicholas Bell, reviewed by Adrian Turner, reviewed by Nick Pinkerton
Worldwide gross: $2,960,492
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $6,825,087
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,082
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 744,284
US/Canada gross: $2,960,492
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $6,825,087
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,720
US/Canada opening weekend: $46,663
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $107,576
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,909
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $230,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $530,240
Production budget ranking: 2,111
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $285,534
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $6,009,313
ROI to date (est.): 737%
ROI ranking: 168
Edward Clements – Tom Townsend
Chris Eigeman – Nick Smith
Taylor Nichols – Charlie Black
Allison Parisi – Jane Clark
Dylan Hundley – Sally Fowler
Whit Stillman – Director/Producer/Writer
Director(s)
Whit Stillman
Writer(s)
Whit Stillman
Producer(s)
Whit Stillman
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 1 Oscar
6 wins & 10 nominations total
Academy Awards
All Critics (41) | Top Critics (18) | Fresh (38) | Rotten (3)
Stillman sketches his characters with gentle humor, capturing not only their foibles and foolishnesses but the earnest intentions behind them.
June 15, 2020
Christopher Orr
The Atlantic
TOP CRITIC
Metropolitan is a melancholic lament for not-quite-doomed youth-a self-styled new “lost generation” that isn’t really lost, but might just never have a purpose.
June 15, 2020
Jonathan Romney
Film Comment Magazine
TOP CRITIC
Stillman hasn’t made as hermetically appealing a movie since, but for those lamenting the absence of the written word in modern comedy – rather than the improvisationally blurted-out kind – “Metropolitan” makes for delightful memory-lane viewing.
August 13, 2015
Robert Abele
Los Angeles Times
TOP CRITIC
Metropolitan has always felt like a movie that exists in a strange, insular little bubble of its own, utterly divorced from the personal experience of virtually anyone who watches it.
August 6, 2015 | Rating: A
Mike D’Angelo
AV Club
TOP CRITIC
It might make you long for a return to movies in which teens have a greater vocabulary than their parents.
August 4, 2015
Sam Weisberg
Village Voice
TOP CRITIC
Stillman films these rounds of romance and jealousy, old mind-sets and new friendships, as scintillating dialectical jousts in which verbal blows take the place of action and leave lasting emotional wounds.
August 3, 2015
Richard Brody
New Yorker
TOP CRITIC
Metropolitan introduced us to an intriguing new cinematic voice in Whit Stillman, and it stands as an utterly unique and highbrow example of the kind of cinema that’s increasingly harder to find.
November 19, 2020
Nicholas Bell
IONCINEMA.com
It’s as though the world of F Scott Fitzgerald has been caught in a time warp, complete with a social interloper.
June 15, 2020 | Rating: 4/5
Adrian Turner
Radio Times
Though the ensemble, on the whole, seem a scotch older than the characters they’re playing, there’s a fidelity in their Awkward Age emotional peculiarities that makes them absolutely convincing.
June 15, 2020
Nick Pinkerton
Reverse Shot
Overall I enjoyed Metropolitan and I think the script by Whit Stilman is outstanding.
March 11, 2019 | Rating: B+
Rachel Wagner
rachelsreviews.net
It is difficult to describe it without making it sound precious — but in fact it is fresh, funny and very appealing.
August 30, 2018
Hilary Mantel
The Spectator
Whit Stillman’s directorial debut is a terrifically satirical portrayal of the upper echelons of New York society.
May 9, 2018 | Rating: 4/5
Christopher Machell
CineVue…
Plot
In an apartment on Manhattan a couple of friends from the New York upper-class meet almost every night to talk about social mobility, play bridge and discuss Fourier’s socialism; the cynic Nick, the philosophical Charlie, party girl Sally and austenite Audrey. They are joined by Tom. His background is much simpler and he is critical of their way of life. But he finds a soul mate in Audrey, who without his knowledge falls in love with him.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
There is no goofy or funny or odd comment about the film Metropolitan on Fresh Kernels.
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