The Broken Hearts Club: A Romantic Comedy
Metascore
51 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 17 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 17
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 17
  3. Negative: 5 out of 17
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  1. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Lisa Schwarzbaum
    83
    A majority oriented movie that assumes sophisticated familiarity with a sexual minority.
  2. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Kevin Thomas
    80
    Berlanti brings a smart, witty, mainstream style to his well-crafted picture, which surely enhances its crossover appeal.
  3. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    75
    So likable, we go with it on its chosen level.
  4. Miami Herald
    Reviewed by: Rene Rodriguez
    75
    The strength of the performances, along with the good will generated by these flawed but likable characters, carry the movie through.
  5. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Jami Bernard
    75
    It's the first mainstream gay movie that feels totally comfortable in its shoes.
  6. Baltimore Sun
    Reviewed by: Chris Kaltenbach
    75
    A slice-of-life where being gay is a fact of daily existence, not an excuse for existential dilemmas or grand tragedies.
  7. Austin Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Kimberley Jones
    67
    Funny and friendly and all-inclusive and unremarkable.
  8. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Jonathan Foreman
    63
    Turns out to be a choppily written, unevenly acted exercise, no less shlocky and predictable than any of Hollywood's average second-string heterosexual comedies.
  9. Philadelphia Inquirer
    Reviewed by: Desmond Ryan
    63
    An undemanding and reassuring amiability that made it a crowd-pleaser at Sundance.
  10. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Dave Kehr
    60
    Emerges as an engaging if occasionally hokey inspirational melodrama about the importance of community in the face of life's disappointments.
  11. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Loren King
    50
    Shallow though it may be, is a breakthrough.
  12. Film.com
    Reviewed by: Ernest Hardy
    40
    A constant video rental for a community that aches to see itself as banal and generic.
  13. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Jay Carr
    38
    It plays like a pilot for what I imagine will be network TV's first all-gay sitcom.
  14. Mr. Showbiz
    Reviewed by: Michael Atkinson
    36
    Pushes the standard tropes of gay romance movies a few more steps toward full-blown cliché-dom.
  15. L.A. Weekly
    Reviewed by: Paul Malcolm
    30
    He (Berlanti) shoots for bland entertainment and scores.
  16. Portland Oregonian
    Reviewed by: Kim Morgan
    25
    This little serio-comedy contains absolutely nothing that warrants big-screen release. It's lit like TV, acted like TV and staged like TV.
  17. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Dennis Lim
    20
    Bloated loquaciousness, damp self-absorption, and defensive reflexiveness on display here.

User Reviews

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User Score
7.6 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 13 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 6
  3. Negative: 0 out of 6
  1. Keith
    8
    This is one of those movies that sneaks into your heart in spite of any protesting you might offer. I found some of it clumsily done, especially the big death that happens near the end. I found this completely unnecessary, as if the screenwriter was trying to check off some list of things that must happen in a romantic comedy. The movie succeeds, though, largely because the characters (and actors, too) are so likable and the scenes among them have the chemistry of real friendships. I must admit, I put this movie on often, when I feel like settling into something comforting and with characters who I now regard as my own friends. Nothing earthshattering here, but it is pleasant, funny, big-hearted, and at times, true to life.… Full Review »
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