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75Old-fashioned and obvious, yes, like a featherweight comedy from the 1950s. But that's the charm.
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Scores points for oddball charm.
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63Falls 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]
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63The result is sometimes enchanting, but, more often than not, it's frustrating, because the disparate elements of the plot never quite gel.
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63Both 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.
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50It'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.
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A gooey-sweet, beautifully photographed romantic fantasy…It's also -- at the risk of sounding like a Grinch -- a mess.
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50This culinary fantasy is mildly inspired.
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40Though glossy and smoothly directed, this limp concoction has all the sparkle of flat champagne.
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40It 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.
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30When the enchanted crab is the most appealing character in a movie, you know you're in some serious metaphoric hot water.
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25The 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]
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25A tuneless variation on the working girl-captivates-Mr. Big formula that has propelled fairy tales as old as Cinderella.
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20Insipid, maudlin mush.
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20Eminently resistible, an unclassifiable cinematic leftover best left untasted.
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20A 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.
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20The two leads are unappealing, the story is dragged on for days and the rather random magical element renders any human factor irrelevant..
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20Much like a botched souffle that fails to rise, Simply Irresistible is a bland confection that remains doggedly earthbound while attempting flights of romantic fantasy.
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10A third-rate love story.
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0Somehow 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.
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0The 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.