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A Lot Like Love
Metascore
48 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 31 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 31
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 31
  3. Negative: 9 out of 31
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  1. Dallas Observer
    Reviewed by: Melissa Levine
    80
    An entertainment success, a triple threat of fresh writing, inspired directing, and, yes, good acting.
  2. Variety
    Reviewed by: Brian Lowry
    80
    In essence, British director Nigel Cole has brought a breezy arthouse sensibility to this tale of fated love.
  3. Miami Herald
    Reviewed by: Rene Rodriguez
    75
    Survives its surface annoyances because Lynch's script also has ambition, heart and something to say other than love conquers all.
  4. Philadelphia Inquirer
    Reviewed by: Carrie Rickey
    75
    Though I liked Love's unhurried pace and oddball digressions, its obligatory romantic-comedy resolution seemed too schematic for what had preceded it.
  5. USA Today
    Reviewed by: Mike Clark
    75
    The chuckles here come from the leads' interplay, crying on each other's shoulders and cheering each other up.
  6. ReelViews
    Reviewed by: James Berardinelli
    75
    Here's a pleasant little romantic comedy that doesn't try too hard and has the virtue of doing a few things differently.
  7. Baltimore Sun
    Reviewed by: Chris Kaltenbach
    75
    While it's certainly too derivative to be a great movie, it's too goodhearted and modest in its aspirations to be denied.
  8. L.A. Weekly
    Reviewed by: Scott Foundas
    70
    Peet is triumphant as the beguiling object of desire with wounded-bird eyes and devilish smile -- sexy and tart, then, in the space of a breath, totally, tenderly tragic. Like Oliver, we'd happily follow her anywhere.
  9. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Scott Tobias
    70
    Kutcher and Peet are a low-wattage pair, with little of the verbal riffing that counts as seduction in most romantic comedies, but they have real chemistry together, and A Lot Like Love happily indulges their silly, juvenile one-upmanship.
  10. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Carina Chocano
    70
    If the script isn't as well-structured as it could be, the dialogue is refreshingly natural. Kutcher is surprisingly well cast as the awkward, somewhat dorky Oliver, and Peet is charming and charismatic without being cloying or artificial.
  11. Seattle Post-Intelligencer
    Reviewed by: Sean Axmaker
    67
    It is charming and at times disarmingly surprising.
  12. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Kirk Honeycutt
    60
    This is a hand-me-(dumbed)-down chick flick that is counting on Kutcher's tabloid popularity and Peet's unmistakable though here underutilized talents to cover up for rote characterizations, tired plot devices and a general lack of inspiration.
  13. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Manohla Dargis
    60
    Isn't half bad and every so often is pretty good, filled with real sentiment, worked-through performances and a story textured enough to sometimes feel a lot like life.
  14. Rolling Stone
    Reviewed by: Peter Travers
    50
    As the film stopped counting back in years and switched to months, I panicked that it would slog on to weeks, hours and seconds before reaching its inevitable end. I was wrong. About A Lot Like Love leaving you wanting a lot less, I am right.
  15. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Jack Mathews
    50
    In A Lot Like Love, there is no doubt - nor suspense, nor depth.
  16. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Ruthe Stein
    50
    An unfortunate casting decision, however, comes close to sabotaging a witty script.
  17. The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
    Reviewed by: Liam Lacey
    50
    Too often, the script collapses into what feels like improvisation, in which the characters find a kind of common ground: Infantilism.
  18. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Angel Cohn
    50
    Enjoyable and funny enough.
  19. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Owen Gleiberman
    50
    A Lot Like Love is a lot like a romantic comedy, except that all that's keeping these two kids apart is the trivially insufferable movie they're in.
  20. Salon.com
    Reviewed by: Stephanie Zacharek
    50
    The big screen doesn't seem to like Kutcher much, or even to GET him, whatever there is to get.
  21. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Ben Kenigsberg
    50
    Interjections from perennial second bananas Kathryn Hahn (How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days) and Kal Penn (winning even when not conjuring vivified bags of pot) generate the only sparks.
  22. Empire
    Reviewed by: Liz Beardsworth
    40
    Peet works hard with the slight material and there are some cutely kooky moments.
  23. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Allison Benedikt
    38
    A poor man's "When Harry Met Sally."
  24. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Kyle Smith
    38
    Say this for A Lot Like Love: It isn't one of those impossibly witty romantic comedies.
  25. Portland Oregonian
    Reviewed by: Marc Mohan
    33
    A Lot Like Love is, well, a lot like many other movies. It's also a lot like having your eyeballs seared by a propane flame -- in a bad way.
  26. Austin Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Marrit Ingman
    30
    The whole production is simply as mediocre and half-baked as Hollywood gets.
  27. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Michael O'Sullivan
    30
    It starts with a bang and ends with a whimper.
  28. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: Jonathan Rosenbaum
    30
    This interminable contest between two narcissists, stretched out over many miles and years, is supposed to have something to do with romance.
  29. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    25
    To call A Lot like Love dead in the water is an insult to water.
  30. Christian Science Monitor
    Reviewed by: David Sterritt
    25
    What's the point of the picture, except to allow Kutcher fans occasional peeks at acting talent he usually keeps hidden?
  31. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Ty Burr
    25
    ''Love" doesn't have a plot so much as it has a concept, scribbled in crayon.
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User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
6.9 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 43 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 22
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 22
  3. Negative: 7 out of 22
  1. hoops2448
    7
    A Lot Like Love could have been a generic Rom-Com but it has two things going for it and those two things are its talented leads Ashton Kutcher and Amanda Peet. The story isn’t that unique but it does avoid the usual potholes that sink lesser Rom Coms. The story follows two pretty young things (Peet and Kutcher) who meet on a plane to New York an get ‘acquainted’. They spend the day together in the city and then part ways. The rest of the film follows the times they reconnect to discover where each other’s lives are. It’s similar to One Day but unlike One Day it doesn’t feel like an incomplete story because the moments of their lives we do see do progress the story of their relationship, not their lives apart which was One Day’s major flaw. There are some problems with there being some unnecessary side stories such as Peet’s characters friend problems that add to the run time but not much more but the moments when Peet and Kutcher are together (or on the phone) are both well written and acted with the two sharing very real chemistry which is helped by the very real writing. The film does suffer due to its reliance on the conventional grand gesture ending, this time slightly subverted but still equally as ridiculous. It’s a convention that we have Cameron Crowe and John Hughes to blame for but at least in films like Pretty In Pink and Say Anything it felt real and powerful whereas in modern films it has become lazy and predictable. The film is a little slow in the middle with a nappy storyline (yes, you read that right) that goes on far too long but overall it is an endearing love story that is at times funny, emotional and dare I say it, adorable.… Full Review »
  2. GinoM.
    3
    These post-1998 witty romantic comedies seem to follow a familiar ploy in hopes to stand out in a sea of sameness. That ploy is a simple attempt identifying with young people that think this sort of deliberately obtuse wit exists in real life and is plausible to apply their own lives. The reality is that such phantasmagorical wit-ridden romance doesn't define a damn thing about young people in society however much those who identify with this prototypical movie would like to think so. I call this The Garden State Complex, and in addition to sounding like a nice Emo band, this complex seems to be quite widspread.… Full Review »
  3. R.G.
    2
    We all know where this movie will go from start to beginning and there are some cool ideas in the movie that are not executed well. If you want to see how a photographer's work is captured in a love story and moments of realizations (watch Shopgirl). It's your typical movie using montages with your popular ballads of the year. Ashton Kutcher can't translate into a descent actor and Pete carries the movie but isn't always convincing. There is no heart or charm in the movie, just cheap scenes with crap music.… Full Review »
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