Critics Scoreboard
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Average Critic Score:
27
(21 sources)
27
(21 sources)
-
75
Chicago Sun-Times
Old-fashioned and obvious, yes, like a featherweight comedy from the 1950s. But that's the charm. Read Full Review » -
70
-
63
ReelViews
The result is sometimes enchanting, but, more often than not, it's frustrating, because the disparate elements of the plot never quite gel. Read Full Review » -
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
Both actors seem too callow and shallow to actually feel all those emotional raptures they are supposedly experiencing. This is a problem exacerbated by the talent of the supporting cast. Read Full Review » -
63
Chicago Tribune
Falls prey to the all-too-contemporary problem of complicating the tale until the ending is not only obvious, but prayed for between yawns. [9 February 1999, Tempo, p.2] Read Full Review » -
50
San Francisco Chronicle
It's a movie, a goofy little movie. Not so bad, but as far as food and sensuality go, ``Like Water for Chocolate'' still has the edge. Read Full Review » -
50
San Francisco Examiner
A gooey-sweet, beautifully photographed romantic fantasy…It's also -- at the risk of sounding like a Grinch -- a mess. Read Full Review » -
50
-
40
The New York Times
It is a measure of the shortcomings of this genial, well-meaning but ultimately unenchanting film that scene after scene is stolen by the second bananas. Read Full Review » -
40
TV Guide
Though glossy and smoothly directed, this limp concoction has all the sparkle of flat champagne. Read Full Review » -
30
Salon.com
When the enchanted crab is the most appealing character in a movie, you know you're in some serious metaphoric hot water. Read Full Review » -
25
Entertainment Weekly
A tuneless variation on the working girl-captivates-Mr. Big formula that has propelled fairy tales as old as Cinderella. Read Full Review » -
25
USA Today
The premise was a yummy one in the Mexican hit "Like Water for Chocolate," but it's best to pack Tums in case of heartburn this time around. [5 February 1999, Life, p.11E] Read Full Review » -
20
Variety
Much like a botched souffle that fails to rise, Simply Irresistible is a bland confection that remains doggedly earthbound while attempting flights of romantic fantasy. Read Full Review » -
20
-
20
Los Angeles Times
The two leads are unappealing, the story is dragged on for days and the rather random magical element renders any human factor irrelevant.. Read Full Review » -
20
LA Weekly
A betrayal of all things Buffy, not to mention a complete waste of Gellar’s strengths as a young actress. Even the most hardcore of her fans would do well to give it a miss. Read Full Review » -
20
Austin Chronicle
Eminently resistible, an unclassifiable cinematic leftover best left untasted. Read Full Review » -
10
-
0
The Onion (A.V. Club)
Somehow both formulaic and bat-shit insane. It's sort of a given that films in this genre won't be rigorous cerebral exercises, but Simply Irresistible is almost hypnotic in its unyielding stupidity. Read Full Review » -
0
Washington Post
The dialogue is fast but bad, the acting is loud but awful and the morality is chaste but unromantic. As for the food, it looks vulgar. Read Full Review »
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