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In Search of a Midnight Kiss
Metascore
64 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 25 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 25
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 25
  3. Negative: 1 out of 25
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  1. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    88
    We increasingly admire the quality of the acting: Both actors take their characters through a difficult series of changes, without ever seeming to try, or be aware of it.
  2. ReelViews
    Reviewed by: James Berardinelli
    88
    Wonderfully romantic and romantically bittersweet. It's not about forever; it's about now.
  3. Film Threat
    Reviewed by: Eric Campos
    80
    The film also doesn't try to wrap things up nice and neat. That's not how life is and that's not how this film goes. But for those who can handle the truth, they should be prepared for a very moving experience. And Freddy Krueger references.
  4. Empire
    Reviewed by: Patrick Peters
    80
    Lovingly photographed in a monochrome that recalls Woody Allen's Manhattan, this is a slickly scripted rom-com.
  5. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: J.R. Jones
    80
    Smart dialogue, an impeccably crafted story, and eye-catching LA locations make this low-budget feature by Alex Holdridge the most worthwhile date movie I've seen in some time.
  6. Austin Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Josh Rosenblatt
    78
    Holdridge is clever enough to keep his characters from slipping into outright narcissism, or when they do, he's familiar enough with the art of mainstream moviemaking to balance the exhausted with the ecstatic.
  7. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Kyle Smith
    75
    Takes a bit of "Swingers" and a bit of "Manhattan" to create a slacktacular vision of uncertain youth in today's L.A.
  8. Philadelphia Inquirer
    Reviewed by: Steven Rea
    75
    With a moody overlay of songs supplied by Okkervil River and Shearwater, In Search of a Midnight Kiss also serves as a millennial's answer to Woody Allen's "Manhattan."
  9. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Walter Addiego
    75
    It's a handsome and entertaining small-scale picture with nice acting, some crisp (and some crude) dialogue and effective direction.
  10. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Wesley Morris
    75
    A romantic comedy with film noir shadows.
  11. Seattle Post-Intelligencer
    Reviewed by: Bill White
    75
    The rude naturalism of the opening scenes between Wilson and Jacob recalls the spirited vulgarity of "Clerks," with dialogue that would be hopelessly offensive were it not so funny and true to life.
  12. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Sura Wood
    70
    An amusing ensemble piece about the troubles of dislocated twentysomethings attempting to find their way through life and love.
  13. Salon.com
    Reviewed by: Andrew O'Hehir
    70
    Profane, hilarious and ultimately heartbreaking, Alex Holdridge's black-and-white feature In Search of a Midnight Kiss has a gutter purity that makes you root for it all the way and forgive its patches of ultra-indie awkwardness.
  14. Variety
    Reviewed by: Dennis Harvey
    70
    Performances are aptly quirky and ingratiating, Holdridge's seriocomic balance nicely judged. But the most outstanding element in an accomplished low-budget package is Robert Murphy's lensing, which recalls "Manhattan" in its B&W celebration of a cityscape.
  15. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Mike Mayo
    70
    Despite some scenes that have the feel of an acting or writing workshop, these are believable, complex characters. Their story has a full measure of Judd Apatow raunch, with a dash of "Swingers" emotional sweetness.
  16. Portland Oregonian
    Reviewed by: Stan Hall
    67
    Very much a time-and-place film, by 2030 it will be useful fodder for historians.
  17. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Noel Murray
    67
    Even when Midnight Kiss is sputtering, viewers can tune the dialogue out and just watch the scenery in one of the most "there"-y L.A. movies ever made.
  18. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Elizabeth Weitzman
    60
    By the end, Holdridge has captured the bittersweet complexities of romance with a wisdom that proves surprisingly seductive.
  19. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Manohla Dargis
    60
    In Search of a Midnight Kiss has its derivative moments along with awkward patches -- the inelegantly shaped climax tries to force uninteresting parallels between the two central couples -- it manages the difficult task of creating a sustained, plausible and inviting world.
  20. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Staff (Not credited)
    50
    Painfully undermined by its central characters.
  21. Premiere
    Reviewed by: Jenni Miller
    50
    The arc of the story mirrors "Before Sunrise" and "Before Sunset," but the writing isn't nearly as strong, nor the characters as believable -- or likable.
  22. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Scott Foundas
    50
    Holdridge's film oscillates wildly between low-key romantic comedy and antic slapstick and doesn't always hit the mark, but it has charm to burn.
  23. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Mark Olsen
    50
    If it were a parody of relationship-youth pictures, In Search of a Midnight Kiss would maybe be tolerable, but writer-director Alex Holdridge seems to be playing it with a straight face.
  24. The New Yorker
    Reviewed by: Anthony Lane
    50
    In Holdridge's movie there is as much to repel as there is to allure, and I cannot imagine leaving a screening of it in anything less than two minds.
  25. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Michael Phillips
    38
    It wanders and putters and follows its main characters around.
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