| 83 |
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
As a goofy little fantasy, however, this film has loads of charm.
|
| 75 |
Miami Herald
A charming confection spun from pure whimsy.
|
| 75 |
USA Today
All coy and fey -- and painless to digest.
|
| 70 |
Variety
Lisa Nesselson
A fantastical romp with a buoyant pace, exotic locations, a finger-popping score, appealing leads and spicy cooking demonstrations.
|
| 63 |
Chicago Sun-Times
This is the kind of movie you sort of like, and yet even while you're liking it, you're thinking how much better these characters and this situation could have been with a little more imagination and daring.
|
| 63 |
New York Post
Prime date fare, but cotton-candy light and occasionally just a little too whimsical.
|
| 63 |
Philadelphia Inquirer
Tries too hard to be playful and sensual, wacky and romantic, and comes away feeling fake and prefabricated instead.
|
| 63 |
Chicago Tribune
Marc Caro
A dish that's pretty easy to swallow, but if it could have borrowed some of Isabella's more potent spices, it might have boasted a more lasting flavor.
|
| 63 |
Boston Globe
A romantic fairy tale that's light and in several ways seductive, if not exactly filling.
|
| 60 |
LA Weekly
Relentlessly positive and optimistic, the film is also likable, in the most chaste way imaginable.
|
| 60 |
Chicago Reader
This gently satirical farce is atmospheric when dabbling in religion--the chef turns to spiritual magic to defuse her passion for her husband--and moving during her heart-to-hearts with her friend.
|
| 58 |
Portland Oregonian
Awfully sloppy entertainment, built on a script with only a glancing acquaintance with logic, filled with uneven performances and staged with a near-amateur touch for comedy.
|
| 50 |
The New York Times
This would-be spicy film has been made blandly palatable.
|
| 50 |
TV Guide
Bright, bubbly and thoroughly inconsequential.
|
| 50 |
Baltimore Sun
Lovely to look at and listen to but doesn't reward any closer study.
|
| 50 |
Austin Chronicle
Thanks to this relentlessly likable film's playful sexuality and utter lack of pretension it's surprisingly easy to let all of one's objections float away on a fragrant cloud of kitchen sweat, pheromones, and sweet lime zest.
|
| 50 |
San Francisco Examiner
Not the sweaty midnight stroll through the garden of carnal delights that its title wants you to believe.
|
| 50 |
New York Daily News
Gets the proportions all wrong -- too much magic, not enough realism.
|
| 50 |
San Francisco Chronicle
Wants to be a brightly colored bubble but has trouble getting aloft.
|
| 49 |
Mr. Showbiz
Predictable, tame dreariness.
|
| 40 |
Village Voice
Too flimsily built and baldly unfunny to bolster Cruz's charms, but Almodóvar's blessed Virgin is, as usual, winning and guilelessly seductive.
|
| 40 |
Washington Post
Never the magic charmer it sets out to be.
|
| 33 |
Entertainment Weekly
Has all the mood enhancing flavor of a tropical cocktail made with watered down rum and fake fruit juice.
|
| 30 |
Film.com
The visual fireworks and catchy score just underline the extreme superficiality of the material.
|
| 30 |
Film.com
There is something especially irritating about whimsy done badly.
|
| 30 |
Rolling Stone
Cruz is a dish, but her movie is as soggy and indigestible as Styrofoam.
|
| 30 |
Salon.com
Just a string of cute gags and pouting on Isabella's part that's supposed to signify soul-searching.
|
| 30 |
Dallas Observer
Consistently fails to deliver the charm it presumes to have.
|
| 20 |
Los Angeles Times
If Penélope Cruz were any less attractive, maybe someone would have noticed how dull this mild, would-be romantic fairy tale has turned out.
|
| 20 |
TNT RoughCut
This is as close to a total wipeout as can be imagined.
|
| 10 |
Washington Post
The mind will be starved for subtlety, wit and substance.
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