'' Variety '' magazine called the film " well-executed and original " , praising the performances as well as the editing by Gerry Hambling . Jonathan Rosenbaum of the '' Chicago Reader '' wrote , " If Parker ca n't resist the occasional fancy or cutesy flourishes ... that tend to compromise his work , he still allows his material to exist on its own level and makes it fun to watch . " Hal Hinson of '' The Washington Post '' wrote that the film was " a deadly funny movie ; nearly every scene is broken off with a punch line . But Parker 's sense of comedy is organic ; he never lets the jokes elbow the characters , or the music , out of the spotlight . " Kenneth Turan of the '' Los Angeles Times '' wrote , " ... Parker has loosened up quite a bit here , not forcing the action as much as he did in the similar '' Fame '' and bringing a surprisingly loony touch to characters like Jimmy 's Elvis-obsessed father . " '' Time '' magazine reviewer Richard Corliss wrote , " The film offers no message , no solutions , only a great time at the movies . " Roger Ebert of the '' Chicago Sun-Times '' wrote , " ... the movie is filled with life and energy , and the music is honest . " On the syndicated television program '' Siskel & Ebert At the Movies '' , Ebert gave the film a " Thumbs Up " rating , while his colleague , Gene Siskel , gave the film a " Thumbs Down " . Siskel , writing for the '' Chicago Tribune '' , stated that the film was " a joyful but empty mixture of Irish kids and black American soul music " . Owen Gleiberman of '' Entertainment Weekly '' criticized the overall premise as being " downright insulting " , explaining , " In Parker 's hands , soul music becomes little more than a self-serving metaphor – an easy symbol for ' commitment ' and integrity . " Peter Travers of '' Rolling Stone '' wrote , " ... the predictable way in which the band 's nine men and three women argue about music , sex and fame robs the story of urgency . " Janet Maslin of '' The New York Times '' stated , " '' The Commitments '' becomes repetitive after a while , since so much of it is about the group 's stage show , and since the effort to create an off-stage story never really works . " David Denby of '' New York Magazine '' wrote the film has " a raspy surface authenticity and a great deal of affection for its characters and milieu but not much dramatic interest . " '' The Commitments '' received various awards and nominations in categories ranging from recognition of the film itself to its writing , direction , editing and sound to the supporting performance of Andrew Strong . In September 1990 , the film debuted at the 4th Tokyo International Film Festival , where it competed for the " Tokyo Grand Prix Award " and was nominated for the Best Director Award , with Parker winning in the latter category . In January 1992 , the film received a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy though it failed to win the award at the 49th Golden Globe Awards , losing to the animated feature '' Beauty and the Beast '' . On 19 February 1992 , '' The Commitments '' received one Academy Award nomination for Best Film Editing , but lost to '' JFK '' at the 64th Academy Awards ceremony on 30 March 1992 . At the 45th British Academy Film Awards , the film received six nominations , and won four for Best Film , Best Direction , Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Editing
64th Academy Awards
64th Academy Awards
The Commitments (film)