---
title: "Educating Rita: the reviews"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/educating-rita/reviews"
title_page: "https://film.one/film/educating-rita"
critics_score: 66
critics_reviews: 7
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Educating Rita (1983): what the critics said

Critics' score 66 from 7 reviews: 4 positive, 1 mixed, 2 negative.

## Variety

Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 31 December 1982. 

Lewis Gilbert has done a marvelous job bringing the charming British play to the screen with an expert adaptation by Willy Russell, resulting in an irresistible story about a lively lower-class woman hungering for education and the degenerating professor who provides it.

[Read the review](https://variety.com/1982/film/reviews/educating-rita-1200425548/)

## Empire — Ian Nathan

Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2000. 

The critic praises the film's energy and life-affirming quality despite its familiar British realism, highlighting two career-best performances from Julie Walters and Michael Caine. The script by Willy Russell is singled out for dressing working-class characters with self-respect and delivering an optimistic message about transcending one's environment.

[Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/educating-rita-review/)

## Radio Times — Sue Heal

Rating 4/5. 

This adaptation is a joy from start to finish thanks to the lead actors' perfect suitability for their roles. Julie Walters and Michael Caine deliver standout, warm and insightful performances that earned them Baftas.

[Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-onwd3z/educating-rita/)

## Time Out — SJo

Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 10 September 2012. 

The critic finds the film mostly faithful to the play with serviceable but stolid direction, containing flashes of wit amid clichés and evasion. Julie Walters' ebullient performance is singled out as the main source of life in the film.

[Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/educating-rita)

## RogerEbert.com — Roger Ebert

Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 28 October 1983. 

The film fails to convince that the characters are genuinely engaging with literature, turning what could have been a charming story into a formulaic relationship drama padded with unnecessary subplots. Credit goes mainly to Michael Caine's weary, self-hating professor.

[Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/educating-rita-1983)

## The New York Times — Janet Maslin

Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 21 September 1983. 

The film is an awkward blend of intellectual pretension and cute obvious humor, opening up the two-character play with ponderous direction and subordinate figures that never feel lifelike. It is the perfect play about literature for anyone who wouldn't dream of actually reading books.

[Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1983/09/21/movies/film-educating-rita-school-days.html)

## Film Stories — John Upton

Rating 5/5. 17 July 2024. 

This is a warm bittersweet comedy drama with a quotable and snappy script that still holds up 40 years later. The critic singles out the excellent performances by Michael Caine and Julie Walters for praise.

[Read the review](https://filmstories.co.uk/news/the-1980s-films-of-michael-caine-educating-rita-1983/)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/educating-rita.md