Product Details

• Actors: Mark Wahlberg, Thandie Newton, Tim Robbins, Olga Sékulic, Stephen Dillane
• Directors: Jonathan Demme
• Writers: Jonathan Demme, Jessica Bendinger, Peter Stone, Steve Schmidt
• Producers: Jonathan Demme, Edward Saxon, Ilona Herzberg
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Language: Arabic, English, French
• Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Universal Studios
• VHS Release Date: August 5, 2003
• Run Time: 104 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (85 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00008AOS4
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #299,487 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

It seems blasphemous to remake Stanley Donen's classic romantic thriller Charade, but The Truth About Charlie achieves its own unique identity. Rather than mimic the inimitable chemistry of the original, director Jonathan Demme takes a vividly contemporary approach, with Mark Wahlberg and Thandie Newton well cast in roles originated by Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn. The plot's essentially the same, kicking into high gear when Newton--the unwitting courier of a priceless treasure--is chased around Paris by her murdered husband's military cohorts, an avuncular embassy official (Tim Robbins), and a suave stranger (Wahlberg) whose true identity remains elusive. In a film filled with twists and turns, Demme fails to find a consistent tone of humor, romance, and danger. But he's crafted a peculiar Parisian valentine, seasoned with Gallic cameos (singer Charles Aznavour, Anna Karina, director Agnès Varda) and vibrantly alive with music, style, and forward momentum. Charade it's not, but that's not necessarily a complaint. --Jeff Shannon

From The New Yorker

Why remake "Charade"? Stanley Donen's movie is known and loved for its pairing of Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn. Jonathan Demme has kept tightly to the story, although you could argue that it was only the stars who made the story worth considering in the first place. We are still in Paris, but this time we get Mark Wahlberg and Thandie Newton; she plays the young widow, and he is the mysterious friend, or agent, who apparently comes to her aid. Newton has no problems with the stylish panic of the role, but Wahlberg seems ominously out of his depth; however many berets you clap on his head, he still looks like a man who would rather be on the planet of the apes. Fortunately, the surrounding landscape has its pleasures; Demme's manner is looser and funkier than Donen's, and the Paris we see is a jamboree of teeming streets and suspicious citizens, hopped up on a soundtrack of world music. The film is hilariously indifferent to the conundrum of the plot-the solution may even be found on the poster, for those who care-but it is sustained, just about, by the buoyancy of its mood. With Tim Robbins as a villain on a Ferris wheel (shades of Harry Lime), and the alluring Christine Boisson as a cop. -Anthony Lane
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Surprise Bonus Included With This One !, August 4, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Truth About Charlie (DVD)

I think most of the previous reviewers are venting their displeasure at the excellent CHARADE being remade. Nothing could measure up to the original in their minds, and this one doesn't.

The DVD comes with CHARADE as well as the remake. The bonus is that the audio and video on CHARADE is vastly superior to the currently-available DVD (except perhaps the expensive Criterion edition), so those who love CHARADE may want to purchase Truth About Charlie just to get a terrific CHARADE ! !

By the way, it's a 2-sided disc with a movie on each side, not 2 discs. Three stars for Truth About Charlie and 5 for CHARADE - 4 stars overall.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not the original but still decent, February 21, 2005

By 

G. Jennings "G. J." (Outside) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Truth About Charlie (DVD)

While it doesn't have the same charm as Grant and Hepburn's "Charade", it does stand out in it's own right. Thandie Newton's character comes home one afternoon to find her house ransacked and her husband, Charlie, dead. The French Police, three assailants, an official from the OSD as well as a handsome love interest, charmingly played by Wahlberg, approach her looking for a valuable item which they believe her late husband left in her possession.

Overwhelmed by the onslaught of events and mysterious visitors popping up into her life, Newton becomes desparately confused over who she can trust. It is equally as confusing for the viewer when the name switches start happening more rapidly. Despite it all, the movie is very stylish with a great soundtrack. Newton and Wahlberg's chemistry works very well on screen.

Worth the watch.

18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars No comparison, September 19, 2003

By 

EgusHdus (Hua Hin, Thailand USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Truth About Charlie (DVD)

So many complain that this film must be compared to a sickly sweet '60's original...no way!

Do you like Jean Reno? "The Truth About Charlie" is a film in his genre. Enjoy "The Transporter"?

Accept this as a wonderfully dynamic, visually stimulating film that stands on it's own. I was thoroughly enthralled, straining to catch every twist, and nuance. Particularly interested in how the film was not "dumbed down" for the American audience, example, scenes would often start for a sentence or two in French then casually transition to English. The "feeling" was there, and you knew, you just knew what they were saying....you "got it". You never lost the Euro feel and I loved the location filming in Paris.

The plot is completely unpredictable and you need to sit still right through the credits to get the full effect. Subtle humor, unusual (and well-done) camerawork, surrealistic appearances of French pop singers. This is a wonderful film.

Avoid watching it the first time if you have noisy kids, inattentive spouses or other distractions. You will not want to blink.

"The Truth About Charlie" is one for your collection.