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Critics Say Elizabeth Banks Is The Only Bright Spot In ‘Walk Of Shame’

By David Wangberg
Published on: 15:18 PST, May 2, 2014

Oh, poor Elizabeth Banks. Her latest film, Walk of Shame, wasn’t screened for critics in advance of its release date, which is usually a bad sign. Now that it’s being offered in theaters and on select VOD outlets, the reviews are slowly coming in, and not many of them are positive.

In Walk of Shame, Elizabeth Banks plays Meghan Miles, a reporter who has a few too many drinks while out on the town and ends up having a one-night stand with a stranger named Gordon (James Marsden). Meghan wakes up the next day stranded in Los Angeles with no car, no cell phone, no ID, and no money. And she has eight hours until the most important job interview of her career.

Rotten Tomatoes has the Elizabeth Banks film listed at just 15 percent on the Tomatometer. Only two of the 13 reviews posted on the aggregator site are positive.

Variety‘s Scott Foundas called Banks a “first-rate comedienne,” but watching her in the film is “like watching a team of paramedics perform CPR on the corpse of Ulysses S. Grant.” He then added that Elizabeth Banks “deserves far better” and so does the audience.

Foundas also mentioned that Walk of Shame was originally supposed to be released in September through FilmDistrict. Now, it’s “being dumped” into select theaters and VOD.

Christy Lemire wrote on RogerEbert.com that Elizabeth Banks’ character gets confused for so many things in the movie’s 90-minute runtime – including a stripper; a hooker; and a crack whore. Lemire adds that most of the misogynistic jokes “land with a thud” and even though Banks is a likable person, she plays an “unlikable character” here.

The New York Times‘ Anita Gates wrote that the only thing that “makes sense” is when Elizabeth Banks “goes home with James Marsden.”

Jordan Hoffman of Film.com is one of the only critics giving Walk of Shame a positive review. He said the film is “actually quite funny” and it’s “a solid vehicle for Elizabeth Banks to show off her comedic chops.”

And despite the negative reviews, Elizabeth Banks herself is celebrating the film’s release. Since it’s available on VOD, Banks was able to enjoy the film in the comfort of her own home. She even did a live tweet during the premiere.

Some people took to Twitter, saying they enjoyed Walk of Shame and Banks retweeted some of the posts. One user claimed that she watched the movie six times “in one week.”

Elizabeth Banks can next be found in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1, which releases to theaters on November 21. Banks can also be found in a film called Love & Mercy, which tells the story of Beach Boys musician Brian Wilson. However, the film’s IMDB page doesn’t have a release date listed.

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