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The Smurfs (2011)

Director: Raja Gosnell

Time Out rating

Average user rating

8 reviews

Movie review

From Time Out London

To play The Smurfs Drinking Game you will need: Two 500cl bottles of Blue Bols (per player), one white sleeping cap, ample powder-blue face paint and too much spare time. Rules: When the word ‘Smurf’ is used as a family-friendly substitute for an expletive (eg ‘What the Smurf?!’): take a shot. When the Smurfs sing their happy indoctrination song: take a shot.

When the Smurfs conduct an unreasonably lengthy dialogue scene in front of a well-placed product: shot. Whenever the Scottish Smurf, Gutsy, references his junk: shot. Spurious Joan Rivers cameo: double shot. Whenever Neil Patrick Harris gives a look like he’d gladly put all the Smurfs (especially Clumsy) into a blender: shot. Any scene where the human actors have to interact with the Smurfs but you can see they know full well they’re hugging thin air: shot. Any lines that could be misconstrued as drug references (eg ‘We all live in mushrooms’, ‘I’m collecting Smurf Root’): shot.

Whenever the evil wizard Gargamel (essayed with dignity-abandoning vim by Hank Azaria) stumbles across the Smurfs by coincidence even though they’ve got all New York as their hiding place: shot. When the plot moves forward via a deus ex machina dreamed up by David Lynch on ’ludes (eg Gargamel’s prison escape thanks to a moth army): shot. End credits: finish off bottle, don sleeping cap, eat face paint.

Author: David Jenkins

Time Out London Issue 2138, Aug 11-17 2011

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User reviews of this film

r rabbit said...

Posted on Sep 25 2011 21:26 should not be allowed to vote if you pay money to watch this

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GreetingsfromHolland! said...

Posted on Sep 01 2011 09:05 During a very wet Dutch summer afternoon, I laughed quite a bit during this film. I must hand it to the Belgians when it comes to creating fantasy characters: Tintin, The Smurfs, Kabouter Plop etc. The Dutch obviously love these characters as well: this movie is becoming the surprise movie hit of the film summer of 2011, thanks partly to the pretty bad Dutch weather apparently (we are now having the wettest summer ever since 1906!), The locals here are in any case flocking to the local cinemas in record numbers to escape from the dreary weather outside for a couple of hours.

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andie said...

Posted on Aug 31 2011 13:09 It was funny and great if youtr with thhe kids im 14 and i babysat my lil bruv n took hiim n he loved it and it wasokay for ppl my age

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Alex said...

Posted on Aug 25 2011 09:08 Utter dross. Went with my 5 yr old son. both bored ridged and left after an hour. film is just a vehicle for gratuitous product placement and merchandising. i've seen lots of kids movies and this definitely bottom of the barrel stuff.

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Richi pickle said...

Posted on Aug 19 2011 23:03 Is this 3d ?

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kerry said...

Posted on Aug 11 2011 22:47 ...thanks S.Jack - your 5 lines were succinct, but a lot more useful than 'To play The Smurfs Drinking Game' . I'm sort of in that should I/shouldn't I place now lol

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scrumpyjack said...

Posted on Aug 10 2011 19:27 Agree with the comment below, but I won't be writing an indepth review (as I don't work for T.O.....but if I did, I would) Lets just say a good family (under 12) film with 3D that delights. Why was this ignored? it lifts it to 3* (6/10) just plain family fun

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kerry said...

Posted on Aug 10 2011 15:13 Clever bit of criticism and kind of entertaining, but not what I read this section of Time Out for. Someone write a review please?

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