38
Metascore
18 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 75Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertMichael doesn't set up big drama or punch up big moments. It ambles.
- 70Chicago ReaderJonathan RosenbaumChicago ReaderJonathan RosenbaumBefore this turns to total mush, it's a quirky, fitfully effective fantasy periodically enlivened by the cast.
- 63ReelViewsJames BerardinelliReelViewsJames BerardinelliIt's a little too low-key to be an effective romance and a little too soft to be anything more ambitious. Ultimately, it's neither offensive nor horrible; it's just another unspectacular, uninspired entry on Nora Ephron's erratic resume.
- 60The New York TimesStephen HoldenThe New York TimesStephen HoldenThe movie is so busy applying cute touches to everything and everybody that it forgets to devote enough attention to the souls Michael has come down to save.
- 50San Francisco ExaminerBarbara ShulgasserSan Francisco ExaminerBarbara ShulgasserThe best movie she ever directed was "This Is My Life," a biting comedy she also wrote that was soundly defeated by both critics and audiences. I think she's lost her nerve and her edge ever since.
- 50The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick GroenThe Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick GroenBut wouldn't it be heavenly if a like proportion of Tinseltown producers believed in an existing need for a good script. Because this one ain't good; in fact, it's hellishly mediocre, the kind that aims for holiday charm and settles for workaday torpor.
- 50Christian Science MonitorDavid SterrittChristian Science MonitorDavid SterrittNora Ephron's comedy tries to be sweet, hip, innocent, and sophisticated all at the same time, and it doesn't take long for these contradictory goals to cancel one another out.
- 25San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleSan Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleNora Ephron directed it and had a hand in the screenplay, but without Travolta this film would have no reason for being.
- 20Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenAustin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenThis kind of angel stuff is classic Hollywood fare, especially at Christmastime. Thus, it's all the more wonder that director Nora Ephron has missed and mishandled so many of her cues.
- 20Washington PostDesson ThomsonWashington PostDesson ThomsonAfter the disastrous "Mixed Nuts," her last holiday season folly, Ephron appears to have hunkered down for a career of pandering mediocrity.