Rating: 
Summary: Truth about a Remake that didn't know what it wanted to be.
Review: What was the director Jonathan Demme thinking? The original "Charade" (with Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn) was ten-times more entertaining than this boring thriller wanna-be."Charade" itself was far from being a flawless movie, but at least it got several things right. The dialogue was funny with a good dose of wit, and, more importantly, it didn't give away plot twists before they occurred. The dialogue in "The Truth About Charlie" ("Truth" hereafter, for the brevity's sake) wasn't nearly as half as funny -- which wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing, if what the director wanted was something of a darker thriller. Unfortunately, "Truth" hardly has any surprising plot twists to qualify as a thriller either. Well, there ARE plot twists, but most are presented in such a predictable manner that no one is really caught off-guard. (My cousin, who had not watched "Charade" before, thought "Truth" was very predictable) It's a big shame that "Truth" horribly fails where "Charade" splendidly succeeded. Even the wonderful comedic twist at the end of "Charade" has completely disappeared in "Truth." My guess is that the director Jonathan Demme wanted to transform the comedic "Charade" into a darker thriller where the line between good and evil is not as clear-cut. Noble intention, I'd say. Unfortunately, I think Demme was working with a wrong material for what he wanted. At times, it even appeared that Demme himself was confused about whether he wanted a straight-forward light comedy or a more convoluted dark humor for the laughs. And the end result is a movie that doesn't really succeed at anything it sets out to do. My recommendation? Watch "Charade" to know all the fun and the plot twists. Then watch "Truth" to see how NOT to make a remake. (A note to Korean fans: Park Joong-Hoon gets a good deal of screen time, which is good. However, he is at his best with a more sly comedic stuff, and I feel that Demme's direction didn't really allow Park to shine in his mainstream American debut. If the movie was lighter in tone, like "Charade," I bet Park would have been captivating. What a shame.)
Rating: 
Summary: the truth is a charade
Review: Do yourself a favor and save your money. This is a poor remake of "Charade," which was charming movie with Cary Grant and Audry Hepburn, with a few notable supporting players, including Walter Matthau. Re-cast the original, coarsen the language, add some more gratuitous violence, eliminate the chemistry, and you have The Truth About Charlie. No matter how earnest the acting, it is once again proof that Hollywood can do nothing but remake and ruin (think: Sabrina). Interesting as a last-minute or date diversion, but stay home and rent the original if you want warmth, charm, and a fine good guy/bad guy/ guessing game.
Rating:
Summary: Abysmally bad.
Review: The Truth About Charlie is a remake of 1963's Charade, starring Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant. Charade isn't a masterpiece, but it's a fun lark of a movie, with the captivating chemistry of its two stars and a witty script by Peter Stone its main assets. Unfortunately, even if The Truth About Charlie weren't a remake of a well-remembered classic, it would still be a truly awful film. Apparently, the cinematographer forgot his tripod, cuz the camera shakes and quivers in his arms as he swirls around the two leads--Mark Wahlberg and Thandie Newton, who have zero chemistry and not a single witty line to deliver--making this flick the first movie in a long time that made me bolt the theater in revulsion. Save yourself the effort and just rent the original.
Rating: 
Summary: A delightful and witty masterpiece
Review: Forget the original Charade directed by S. Donen, this Jonathan Demme's movie is much better, more subtle, funny, witty, a real tribute to the French New Wave. I believe critics to be too hard with Thandie Newton or Mark Wahlberg,whom I both found very good... but wait till you see the guest stars : Christine Boisson, a wonderful French actress I had never seen before makes her character an uncommonly impressive and fascinating female cop, Stephen Dillane is perfect in the part of the mysterious Charlie and you have to see Ted Levine in his scene with acupuncture needles or Lisa Gay Hamilton in her last sequence. A movie to be enjoyed at all levels... A perfect piece of entertainment for the reasonably intellignet movie-goer.
Rating: 
Summary: Demme's The Truth About Charlie
Review: Alright, let's face it.. There is no way this movie compares to the classic Charade. Charade was an intelligent, suspenseful, well acted film. One of the main reasons why it worked was because of the chemistry between Grant and Hepburn. Newcomer Thandie Newton has nothing on Hepburn, and Mark Whalburg just isn't charming. These two leads have no chemistry either. Even though the film has nothing on Charade, it's pretty fun. Just forget that it's a Hollywood remake and enjoy the beautiful scenary. For those of you who don't know the plot twists, I won't spoil them, but they work pretty well here. Tim Robbins has a 'now you hear it, now you don't' accent in this film. Whatever happened to that guy choosing great roles? The original Charade is like a Hitchcock film. The Truth About Charlie is like a Hal Ashby film without the necessary cinematic elements. Overall, just watch this film for entertainment. It's not anything special at the end of the day, but it's fun.. bring a date!
Rating:
Summary: Avoid this remake and see the original NOW!
Review: Remakes can be good--sometimes just as good as the original. However, in this case, I'm pretty confident that the whole remake thing is a bad idea. A remake works best in one of two scenarios. One: the original is great, but could be reworked in a new setting. This is what happened when the classic samurai flick Yojimbo got remade as the Clint Eastwood western Fistful of Dollars. Two: the original is lame, or just looking dated, and needs an improvement. This is what just happened with Red Dragon, which greatly improves on Manhunter. In the case of The Truth About Charlie, we have something more like what happened when Psycho was remade a few years ago: a very close imitation of an original film that is STILL GREAT right now and needs no improvement. The film, in case you don't know, is called Charade, directed by Stanley Donen. If you still haven't seen it, spring for the Criterion edition now and find out what you have been missing. Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant have amazing screen chemistry, both sexy and funny, and the supporting cast is great. The films buzzes along with a combination of laughs and thrills that we rarely see today. A few friends of mine borrowed my copy last week and they can't stop talking about it. Charade is still a totally cool movie in 2002 and there is no need to rework it. Catch the original now before the new version spoils all the twists!
Rating:
Summary: Remake of the original "Charade" updated for a new gen
Review: Just saw the trailer last night for the upcoming production "The Truth about Charlie" Starring Mark Wahlberg and Thandie Newton. Wahlberg plays Charlie, ( the Cary Grant Character) Hello Mr. Suave! and Newton plays his lithe counter ( Hepburns character.) The premise of this movie is Newton's husband has just been murdered and his great mass of wealth is up for grabs. The question is: Who killed her husband? Charlie? Or is he just Mr. Sensitive Nice guy? It sounds very intriguing!
Rating:
Summary: 1 Star for the Remake but I would Give Charade a 5!
Review: Charade is a teriffic movie! Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn shine in their rolls as does the supporting cast of James Coburn, Walter Matthau, Ned Glass, and George Kennedy. The remake, the Truth about Charlie has a great cast, Thandie Newton, Tim Robbins and Mark Wahlburg but even they can's save this turkey! Jonathan Demme is usually a great director, his movie Philadelphia was amazing but he tried to hard to make this Charade remake into some sort of arty movie and it just didn't work and I like arty movies. Also the plot was a mess, there was too much going on at once, the criminals weren't as compelling as in the original and were very boring and I definitely have to agree with the previous reviewer that the added character of Charlie's crazy mother was awful, she was an awful addition and just didn't fit in to the story and the twist ending during the end credits involving her and Tim Robbins character was stupid. This DVD is only worth buying for Charade because it's shown in a beautiful anamorphic format and is cheaper then the Criterion DVD but if the Criterion DVD goes on sale I will buy it and get rid of this DVD!
Rating:
Summary: Play side B
Review: I don't know what is wrong with Jonathan Demme lately: why is he only remaking films that don't need to be remade? The difference between Charade and The Truth about Charlie shows the difference in filmmaking techniques over the years. Films have gotten more slick, more glossy, and more realistic-looking. They have also lost a lot of charm, wit, and intelligence. The plot of Charade was hard to follow, but I still have no idea what happened in The Truth about Charlie - and I'd seen the original. The craft of screenwriting was declined notably over the years: dialogue has gotten bad and plots have become incomprehensible. I will not pick on Mark Wahlberg for not being Cary Grant - that's too cheap. The cast in this film is YOUNGER - apparently because one must be young to be a film star in this day and age.
The best thing about the DVD however is that it contains the original movie Charade on the other side - it is worth owning for that reason alone.
Rating:
Summary: Cary Grant Spins In His Grave, Nice Music Though
Review: Ahhhh the benefits of star power. Marky Mark Wahlburg, so promising in "Boogie Nights" fell back to earth in "Planet of The Apes" and now gets his romantic lead turn in the Cary Grant role in "The Truth About Charlie". He gets top billing and is probably the only reason this Jonathan Demme project got the green light, but no doubt about it Thandie Newton and the incomparable soundtrack are the real stars here. Newton, last seen as Tom Cruise's main squeeze in "Mission Impossible 2" is everthing someone in the Audrey Hepburn role should be: frail, beautiful, flawless complexion, a damsel in distress in need of saving. Enter Markie Mark and a bunch of other unsavory characters who want to know where here dead husband Charlie's stolen 6 million in diamonds are. Demme is a talented filmmaker, and he tries some new things here, stepping outside the box, going beyond the third wall of filmmaking, but this movie is nothing more than a little chocolate truffle, made to melt in your mouth immediately with no lingering thoughts. Tim Robbins is a waste in a menacing supporting role. But as I said, the other star is the brilliant soundtrack. Demme uses the music of Paris wonderfully, casting the mood of the City of Lights with every measure. Buy the soundtrack, watch the original "Charade" on the flip side of this disc and enjoy some amour!
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