Metacritic reviews

A gentle, traditional (like, from the last century) romantic comedy.

Do you like this sort of rom-com? It's a fair example of its type, not good, but competent.

New in Town is "The Pajama Game" without the songs, the laughs or the bare-knuckled realism.

New In Town grinds its plucky protagonist through a predictable arc from dispassionate big-city ice queen to redeemed small-town tenderheart.

You've seen New in Town before, and you've seen it done better. Still, it's a sweet-hearted bit of anemia, pleasant and obvious, and there are a few honest laughs to it.

The movie wrong-foots Zellweger from the start. She's not enough the ice queen, like Sigourney Weaver in "Working Girl," for us to accept her transition into adorable Melanie Griffith.

The movie has little to recommend it and more than a few things to encourage those who pursue quality cinema to stay away.

Strictly old hat -- and a poorly assembled hat at that.

It doesn't help that Zellweger, in an unfortunate attempt to make the aud appreciate her character's uptightness, spends many of the early scenes moving about as stiff as a flagpole in January.

New in Town might have better played on the less demanding stage of, say, a Lifetime made-for-TV movie.