Were London Critics Enthralled by David Schwimmer in LaBute's Some Girl(s)?

Neil LaBute's Some Girls opened its world premiere production at London's Gielgud Theatre on May 25. A brutal look at relationships, the play stars Friends alum David Schwimmer with Saffron Burrows, Lesley Manville, Sara Powell and Catherine Tate as women he has scorned. Did critics think the show was worthy of some praise?

Here is a sampling of what they had to say:

Benedict Nightingale of The London Times: "Schwimmer, Ross in Friends, has successfully made the transition to the stage, giving us an earnest, anxious figure who sometimes seems less like a man than a dog eager to be told he's a good boy… Powell's wonderfully giving and forgiving smiles momentarily freeze. Burrows gets very angry indeed. And Manville goes further, venomously devising a revenge that scares and humiliates Schwimmer's nice-seeming but deeply slippery Man. That's a bit implausible, but adds bite to an evening which, while never bland, could sometimes be tenser. Yet there's plenty of subtle, telling, funny writing in a play which is far more than an excuse for a TV star to parade his skills in London."

Nicholas de Jongh of The Evening Standard: "Some Girls, despite plot contrivances and the relative similarity of the women's resentments, offers LaBute's sardonic and amusing view of the difference between the two genders: the concern with which the women regard their sexual relationships is reserved by men, or Schwimmer's Man, to regard himself… Schwimmer's nerdy, wimpish persona, his bashful, tentative air, as if he suffered from masculine deficiency syndrome and his self esteem count had fallen to high anxiety level, nicely suits his character."

Michael Billington of The Guardian: "I was only mildly enthralled by Neil LaBute's new play: it's wry, clever, psychologically astute but, as with so many 100-minute plays, left me feeling hungry afterwards… Schwimmer and the four 'old flames' are a pleasure to watch. He looks like a leaner, snazzier version of Elliott Gould, and has a gift for mixing gaucheness and vanity. He backs off nervously when any of the women make a move on him as if protecting his virtue. At the same time, he has a self-congratulatory smile when they refer to his sexual scorecard."

Paul Taylor of The Independent: "Throughout Schwimmer remains bland, competent, and boyish--though not fatally boyish in the manner that appears to have turned these women on. He fails to convince you that our hero has the chip of ice in the heart that gives writers the ruthlessness needed to turn relationships into 'material.' This love rat would much rather be stroked than bite."