Skip to content
quotesby

About this quote

What does it mean?
A backhanded compliment implying Hepburn's range was surprisingly narrow.
In plain terms
Hepburn performed well but only within a small range.
What can you take from it?
Praise can hide a criticism.

Where it applies

  • reviewing acting
  • analyzing criticism
  • discussing performances

Putting it to work

  • writing criticism
  • humorous review

Questions to consider

  • What makes a performance truly great?
  • How does satire hide in praise?

Another view

It uses ambiguity to deliver a negative critique.

More from Dorothy Parker

  1. Brevity is the soul of lingerie.

    Permalink to quote #26
  2. I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy.

    Permalink to quote #28
  3. And there was that wholesale libel on a Yale prom. If all the girls attending it were laid end to end, Mrs Parker said, she wouldn't be at all surprised.

    Permalink to quote #25

Related quotes

  1. I read all the movie reviews, especially those of Ebert, a graceful and witty prose stylist with profound erudition, whose reviews are worth reading just for t…

    Roger EbertRoger Ebert quote #67
  2. We've all seen 'Jewing it up' performances. They are about as miserable to watch as as 'camping it up' performances when representing gays.

    Patrick MarberPatrick Marber quote #1
  3. 'Movie acting is about covering the machinery. Stage acting is about exposing the machinery. In cinema, you should think the actor is playing himself, if he's …

    Michael CaineMichael Caine quote #5