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Alex D. Linz, Shirley MacLaine, Gary Sinise, Kathy Bates, Kiami Davael ... see more see more... , Joey Lauren Adams , Jennifer Tilly , Brett Butler

Shirley MacLaine makes her feature directorial debut with this offbeat comedy. Bruno (Alex D. Linz) is an eight-year-old boy attending a Catholic school; he is bright, is a good student, and wants to ... read more read more...become an etymologist. He also likes to wear dresses, which causes him plenty of problems -- bullies beat him up on a regular basis, and the school's Mother Superior (Kathy Bates) thinks that something must be wrong with him. Bruno's mother Angela (Stacey Halprin), who tips the scales at 450 pounds, has just lost her husband Dino (Gary Sinise) to trampy Donna Marie (Joey Lauren Adams). With her pal Dolores (Jennifer Tilly) giving Angela regular reports on Dino's activities, she's too occupied to worry much about her son. When Bruno is hurt one day while wearing a skirt, he's taken to the hospital; with Angela suffering from a heart attack and Dino refusing to look after him, it falls to his grandmother Helen (MacLaine) to take care of the boy. But Bruno has finally found a playmate at school who doesn't find him strange -- Shaniqua (Kaimi Davael), a young black girl who wants to be a cowgirl. While Bruno was Shirley MacLaine's first attempt at directing a fictional film, it was not her first experience behind the camera; she previously made the Oscar-nominated documentary The Other Half of the Sky: A China Memoir. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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61% liked it

1,121 ratings

PG-13, 1 hr. 48 min.

Directed by: Shirley MacLaine

Release Date: April 16, 2000

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DVD Release Date: August 16, 2003

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Flixster Reviews (55)

  • jjnxn
    February 6, 2010
    jjnxn
    Rather ridiculous comedy drama. What it's trying to say is good but it's drawn in very broad strokes.
  • silverbutterflyss
    August 5, 2009
    silverbutterflyss
    An utterly charming movie that the whole family can see. It is about a boy who wants to wear dresses. Not because he is transgendered or wants to be a girl. It is because he views dresses as garments of power. He reasoning is that all great religious leaders wear dresses and that... read more is why he sees dresses as being a sign of power. He also goes to a catholic school where he is the schools spelling champion and will be heading to Washington DC to participate in the spelling bee championship. Only thing is he wants to wear a dress when he goes to washington DC. Alex Linz plays the young boy named Bruno. Kathy Bates plays a wonderful, funny role as the Mother Superior of the school that Bruno goes to. Shirley McLaine takes on two roles with Dress Code. She plays Bruno's grandmother in the movie but she also makes her directing debut. I think Shirley does an outstanding job for her first time behind the camera. She certainly shows that her brother, Warren Beatty, isn't the only one in their family who knows how to direct. I highly recommend this movie to anyone.

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Critic Reviews

Jon Lap
November 6, 2001
Jon Lap, Apollo Guide

The Dress Code is Shirley MacLaine's unfortunate foray into the director's chair, and it's so feeble an attempt that it substantiates allegations of her being crazy. Full Review

Lael Loewenstein
October 18, 2008
Lael Loewenstein, Variety

Click to read the article Full Review

Emanuel Levy
July 16, 2005
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

May 13, 2005
Apollo Guide

Click to read the article Full Review

Dustin Putman
December 29, 2004
Dustin Putman, DustinPutman.com

No review available.

November 3, 2001
AV Club

No review available.

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