Little Black Book

Chicago Tribune Robert K. Elder

Though trailers for Little Black Book try to sell it as a zany romantic comedy, don't judge this book by its cover. Those who stick with it will be surprised and maybe even laugh in between a tear or two.

Boston Globe Janice Page

Actually an above-average farce, at least as featherweight chick flicks go.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

The long closing sequence is virtuoso, redefining what went before and requiring Murphy to become a more complex character than she gave any hint of in the opening scenes.

Chicago Reader Andrea Gronvall

This deviously funny comedy doubles as workplace satire and anthem to the American career woman.

Portland Oregonian Karen Karbo

Still, given the fact that it's August, you could do worse than hide out from the heat with the cute-as-a-bug Murphy, who manages to be funny and entertaining despite the material.

Empire Helen O'Hara

Yeah. Light and fluffy it may be, but this is undeniably entertaining stuff.

The Hollywood Reporter Kirk Honeycutt

A teen comedy that possesses a wickedly satirical streak.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker

The result is a film with an identity crisis, a fluffy romantic farce that gets progressively darker, more destructive and finally so downright demented that the featherweight story line is crushed under the weight of brutal, unpleasant truth.

USA Today Claudia Puig

Hunter is far too talented to waste her time with such mediocre material, as is co-star Kathy Bates, who plays Kippie Kann, an overbearing talk-show host.

New York Daily News Jami Bernard

A screechy chick-flick relationship comedy with a lot of things working for and against it - mostly against it.

New York Post Megan Lehmann

The jaw-droppingly nasty second act is intriguing, but it veers into territory so dark that it sucks the air out of the bouncy chick flick that surrounds it, making for one confused -- and confusing -- comedy.

ReelViews James Berardinelli

Ron Livingstone plays his part relatively straight, and, as a result, comes out unscathed.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Scott Tobias

Casual moviegoers looking for a bubbly romantic comedy with Brittany Murphy will get more than they bargained for in Little Black Book, which builds to a nasty twist that's more Lars von Trier than Meg Ryan.

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

A spicy critique of tabloid TV is buried in romantic-comedy material that strains too hard for cuteness. Ditto for Murphy's acting.

Miami Herald Connie Ogle

Together (Hunter/Murphy) they're actually sort of fun to watch, and it's amusing to realize, not quite halfway through the film, that its most potent chemistry exists between them.

The New York Times Stephen Holden

Offering few laughs and a climactic scene of breathtaking cruelty, this plot-heavy movie, directed by Nick Hurran from a screenplay by Melissa Carter and Elisa Bell, draws you into its malignant force field against your will.

Los Angeles Times Kevin Crust

It's an irrefutably bad movie, littered with paper-thin characters, crummy dialogue and a mawkish undercurrent that wells up any time it starts to resemble something smarter and snappier. Yet it is somehow redeemed by Murphy's agreeably quirky performance in a horribly underwritten role.

TV Guide Angel Cohn

Even the inclusion of Simon's classic songs isn't enough to solve all the problems of this comedic misfire.

Variety Scott Foundas

Lacks so much as a single fresh idea; it lacks an entertaining way of presenting its stale ideas, too.

Premiere Nicole Perri

Overall, Little Black Book is the cinematic equivalent of chic lit--mildly amusing, but completely forgettable once you're done with it.

Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey

Looking for plausibility in a farce is like looking for a million dollars in a box of breakfast cereal, but elements of real life can make a comedy resonate instead of thud. Little Black Book does the latter.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Jason Anderson

The finale just seems hypocritical, even nonsensical in a comedy that derives its few laughs from a farting dog and an accidental gynecological exam. This book is better left closed.

LA Weekly Chuck Wilson

Screenwriters Melissa Carter and Erica Bell (Sleepover) have given Murphy -- perhaps the twitchiest actor of her generation --cutesy quirks to play in lieu of a character.

Village Voice Ben Kenigsberg

A mondo product placement in search of a screenplay, the conscious "Working Girl" homage Little Black Book makes the mistake of banking on Brittany Murphy, a Melanie Griffith look-alike with none of Griffith's gawky charms.

Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek

The movie can't distinguish between what's likable and human and funny and what's simply repellent. In that respect, it's just as indiscriminate as the reality TV it shakes its finger at.

Washington Post Sara Gebhardt

It's not well scripted enough or well acted enough to do much of anything, save make anyone watching really hate Brittany Murphy for being so annoying.

Wall Street Journal Joanne Kaufman

"Working Girl," is also heard in Little Black Book; it serves only to remind audiences of that far more winning story of triumph in the office. But there are many reminders of what a tiresome effort this is.

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

Here's a comedy of punishing tedium that pretends to be hip when it's so five minutes ago.

Entertainment Weekly Scott Brown

The big climax isn't climactic, just hysterical and incoherent. Murphy, with her bug-eyed, love-me mugging, is simply too slight and gawky to play the Everygirl.

San Francisco Chronicle Carla Meyer

An awkward and aggressively unfunny film.

Washington Post Stephen Hunter

If you think it's worth it to sit there for 97 minutes for three or possibly four laughs, then you are beyond help.

Dallas Observer Robert Wilonsky

It's a self-satisfied, self-loathing mess that demands you adore and cheer for the very person you come to hate well before its 105 minutes are up. Little Black Book will leave you feeling skuzzy.

Austin Chronicle Kimberley Jones

Little Black Book isn't your run-of-the-mill romantic comedy – it's much worse – and, rather disgustingly, the devils on earth it unmasks are all female and vindictive.