
A film based on a stage musical based on a film (not unlike
'The Producers'),
'Nine' isn't getting a lot of
amore from most critics. It was certainly a promising proposition: Director/choreographer
Rob Marshall -- who helmed the smash
'Chicago'-- takes the acclaimed Broadway musical based on the 1963 Fellini classic
'8½,' adds a screenplay by
Anthony Minghella and
Michael Tolkin, and casts
Daniel-Day Lewis as the film's protagonist, Italian film director Guido Contini, amid a bevy of A-list female stars.
'Nine' centers on Guido's inability to start his next film (he's suffering from 'directile dysfunction,' as
Variety quips) and his subsequent fantasies starring all the women in his life, past and present, including his wife (
Marion Cotillard), mother (
Sophia Loren), mistress (
Penelope Cruz), main muse (
Nicole Kidman), costume designer (
Judi Dench), a reporter (
Kate Hudson) and a hooker from his childhood (
Fergie). Though some reviewers appreciated the big, show-stopping numbers, talented (and ultra-hot) actresses, and Day-Lewis' transformation into a brooding Italian, many were left cold by the frenetic proceedings. See what they had to say after the jump.