Agnes Browne

Dallas Observer Luke Y. Thompson

Those needing their Irish fix will be satisfied and no doubt will leave the theater in far greater spirits.

Mr. Showbiz Kevin Maynard

Agnes Browne hums along as a series of pleasant vignettes, only frantically shifting to a single narrative track in its third act for the sake of an unbelievably upbeat ending.

New York Daily News Jami Bernard

A standout feature of the movie is its representation of female friendship.

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

Modest and prosaic, with an unfortunate fairy-tale ending (yes, it features Tom Jones).

Philadelphia Inquirer Desmond Ryan

Even though the soap employed is Irish Spring, this is still a soap opera.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold

Anges has nothing but affection for its characters and fondness for their quirkiness.

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

It flies apart when it clumsily introduces humor at a funeral or an application for death benefits.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

This is a modest but likable film, and Anjelica Huston plays a heroine who makes us smile.

New York Post Lou Lumenick

A satisfying Irish stew made from very familiar ingredients.

Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington

A bawdy comedy that convincingly celebrates the resilience of the urban poor and the power of friendship in the teeth of despair.

Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach

A pleasant little confection that leaves behind the sneaking suspicion it should have amounted to so much more.

Los Angeles Times Jan Stuart

Huston is a sucker for sentiment, and Agnes Browne is a sap's holiday.

TV Guide Ken Fox

Huston, with a flawless Irish accent, is simply wonderful as the tough, foul-mouthed and very funny Agnes Browne.

Film.com Ernest Hardy

It is -- in mood, execution, and shameless sentimentality -- a Bette Midler movie with an Irish accent.

Washington Post Michael O'Sullivan

A generally well-made tale of humor and hard luck.

The New York Times Stephen Holden

Has an episodic rhythm and little dramatic tension.

LA Weekly Chuck Wilson

Anjelica Huston, a gifted and sometimes extraordinary actress, has given herself the title role in her second outing as director---a bitof miscasting for which the director, and not the actress, must be blamed

Time Richard Schickel

There are a reserve and a realism in Huston's work that make her very modest film more affecting than you might expect.

Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy

Though the film occasionally rises to moments of genuine emotion and wit, it slips appallingly into corniness and hokum before coming to an abrupt and unconvincing end.

USA Today Staff [Not Credited]

Great slabs of blarney are washed down with tears and Guinness in this yarn about a struggling Irish clan, and the resulting sentiment is blatant enough to wake Ned Devine.

Chicago Reader Lisa Alspector

The movie's strength is in its comedy; a tragic subplot feels merely manipulative.

San Francisco Chronicle Edward Guthmann

Floats along on the strength of its writing and supporting cast.

Boston Globe Jay Carr

There's nothing really wrong with Agnes Browne, except a tendency to take a few easy, convenient outs.

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

The material is familiar and the ending is corny, but Huston's acting and directing keep the comedy-drama likable if not very imaginative.

San Francisco Examiner Walter Addiego

The jokes run hot, cold and tepid.

Village Voice Michael Atkinson

Soft-boiled blarney so sluttish with Hollywood clichés it could've been made in Burbank.

Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov

A character-driven piece with a character who seems somewhat hollow.