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Birthday Girl (2001)

R  |   |  Comedy, Crime, Thriller  |  1 February 2002 (USA)
6.1
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Ratings: 6.1/10 from 20,866 users   Metascore: 51/100
Reviews: 158 user | 111 critic | 32 from Metacritic.com

A thirtysomething bank clerk from St Albans has his small-town life exploded by the arrival of his Russian mail-order bride.

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Title: Birthday Girl (2001)

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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
...
Sophia, alias Nadia
...
...
Alexei
...
Yuri
Kate Lynn Evans ...
Clare (as Kate Evans)
...
Bank Manager
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Robert Moseley (as Xander Armstrong)
...
Karen
Jo McInnes ...
Waitress
...
Concierge
...
D.I. O'Fetiger
Katya Barton-Chapple ...
Young Sophia
Rebecca Clarke ...
Bank Colleague
...
Porter
...
Bank Colleague
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Storyline

Internet love connections and mail-order brides rarely ever work out, and John should have known. Having never been lucky in the game of love and tired of waiting for the perfect woman to come along, John decides to take his chances and orders a mail-order bride from Russia online. At first, things seem perfect: his new bride Nadia is a gorgeous woman, and although she may not speak much English, her skills in the bedroom more than make up for any communication problems. When Nadia's 'cousins' unexpectedly arrive to celebrate her birthday, John is drawn into their web of corruption and crime. Written by Anna <dimenxia@yahoo.com>

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Taglines:

Before They Share A Future, They Have To Survive Her Past. See more »

Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Thriller

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexuality and language | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
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Details

Country:

|

Language:

|

Release Date:

1 February 2002 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

Ruleta rusa  »

Box Office

Budget:

$13,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$444,615 (Italy) (1 February 2002)

Gross:

$86,101 (Brazil) (15 November 2002)
 »

Company Credits

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

|

Color:

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1
See  »
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Did You Know?

Trivia

Nicole Kidman went to the Russian Embassy in Australia for help in speaking Russian. She didn't work with any other coach on the set except the woman from the embassy. See more »

Goofs

Between the time that John leaves the airport and arrives at the hotel after chasing the taxi, he has shaved. See more »

Quotes

John: I'll give you a tune later.
See more »

Connections

References Gran Turismo (1998) See more »

Soundtracks

The Most Beautiful Girl in the World
Composed by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart
Published by Williamson Music / Warner Chappel Music Ltd.
PolyGram International Publishing Inc.
Performed by Bob Sakek
See more »

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User Reviews

 
A good premise, but the overall film is just so-so...
22 August 2005 | by (UK) – See all my reviews

John (Ben Chaplin) is a hapless bachelor in St. Albans, looking for love in all the wrong places. So he goes online and orders a Russian mail-order bride. She arrives in the form of Nicole Kidman. Although her background is questionable and her English is fragmented, she's great in bed, so he has no complaints.

However when her "cousins" appear at his door a whole new world of deception and violence opens up for John, pulling him deeper and deeper under.

The premise for the film is fairly good, but the overall execution is just so-so. Nicole Kidman gives a really good performance (worthy of a better film) but Ben Chaplin is just OK. He slaps her around a bit, which is about as daring as his character manages to be. Anyone could play the role, so he's kind of stuck in a rut.

The movie is grungy, dark and feels independent - it's hard to imagine Hollywood royalty Nicole Kidman signing onto it, but she is really the reason this film remains interesting and engaging. Without her, I don't think I would have bothered to sit through all of it.


16 of 20 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you?

Message Boards

Recent Posts
Am I alone in thinking it sucked Smashed_47
next time use true Russians please gmascia
Poor Kidman. arejster
Speculation on Russian stereotypes vadim121726
underrated? eternaldejecti0n-1
Why didn't he go to the police? nightcrawler71
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