A human-scale comedy that reaches across generations to tickle, connect and embrace.

As it stands, it's cute, occasionally poignant and outrageously implausible.

Leelee Sobieski and Albert Brooks, especially Mr. Brooks, deliver outstanding performances in the first feature film to be directed by Ms. Lahti.

Offers something rare for a modern movie: an uncynical depiction of the redemptive power of human relationships.

About reaching out, about seeing the other person, about having something to say and being able to listen. So what if the ending is in autopilot? At least it's a flight worth taking.

While My First Mister has considerable charm, it suffers somewhat from comparison with "Ghost World."

Risks seeming too earnestly therapeutic for its own good. But what makes My First Mister a successful feature directing debut for Lahti is the emotional veracity it summons.

It's a measure of Brooks' stature that he survives the self-sabotage and comes through with his most engaging performance in years.

Christine Lahti, making her directorial debut, wrings good laughs and strong emotion throughout, largely through the performances.

In its first two-thirds, My First Mister, which marks Christine Lahti's feature directorial debut, looks to be a winner. But it takes a disastrously wrong turn toward the end that all but destroys the good work that's come before.

It's a real shame the film gets mushy at the end. The result is an all too conventional ending on a film that should have been much better.

The harder this film tries to be quirky and edgy, the more it feels like a run-of-the mill TV movie.

My First Mister, which was written by Jill Franklyn, watches Jennifer with lively interest, but rarely pierces the mysteries of her soul.

Sobieski manages to make Jennifer's inevitable transformation more than a little bittersweet. Apparently even clichés click sometimes.