7/10. Here's why:

People have compared QUARTET to THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL, which had similar themes, came out the same year and also featured Maggie Smith. I disagree. That movie sucked because it tried too hard to pretend to be something it wasn’t, and it stumbled upon its own ideas (http://vits-ingthemovies.blogspot.com/2013/02/the-best-exotic-marigold -hotel.html). This movie doesn’t pretend; it’s straightforward. Sure, that means it’s less creative, but thanks to the great cast and the funny and cute dialogue, it’s a pleasant way to spend a Sunday afternoon. It's certainly more pleasant that doing last-minute school homework. That's right: You can even watch this with your children... as long as you don’t mind 2 f-bombs. As a 1st time director, Dustin Hoffman shows that he knows a lot about comic timing. The only problem would be the editing. I liked that they showed musicians performing as a way to transition between scenes, but showing a few seconds each time was enough; not 2 minutes. Specially because: A) They were all minor characters (extras even). B) By comparison, the performances during the last part are given much less screentime. Actually --and this isn’t so much a spoiler but a warning so you won’t be dissapointed--, we only hear the quartet’s performance at the end; it isn’t shown on-screen.