40
Metascore
6 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 70ColliderTaylor GatesColliderTaylor GatesDespite its sometimes rocky editing and crowded ensemble, First Time Female Director does what it sets out to do: make you laugh and laugh hard.
- 54Paste MagazineJesse HassengerPaste MagazineJesse HassengerTheoretically, it’s a solid generator of comic tension, with a clear timeline taking the production through rehearsals, tech, dress, opening night, and beyond. But Peretti dices these segments into so many blackout sketches that the whole thing feels as weirdly protracted and repetitive as the frequent slow-mo shots Peretti inserts for reasons beyond my understanding.
- 50The Hollywood ReporterLovia GyarkyeThe Hollywood ReporterLovia GyarkyeThe film begins to sag the deeper we get into Sam’s story, which requires more digging than Peretti can give us. The jokes are rarely the same, but they hit similar notes; the problems with the characters feel repetitive; and the movie circles the same ideas until plot points need to be tidied.
- 40VarietyMichael NordineVarietyMichael NordineThough its loose, improvisatory feel is suited to the material, most of its humor feels like the first draft of a better film — as though the entire movie consists of what should have been deleted scenes.
- 33The PlaylistJason BaileyThe PlaylistJason BaileyFirst Time Female Director is a tremendous disappointment because Peretti is such a gifted performer; it’s understandable to go in pulling for her (this viewer certainly did), but those layers of goodwill just peel away as scene after scene simply does not work. Too much of what she’s assembled is just half-hearted cringe comedy—much of it without the comedy half of the equation.
- 30Screen RantPatrice WitherspoonScreen RantPatrice WitherspoonIts endless, unfunny humor is tiresome and obnoxious, the commentary is short-lived, and jokes related to Sam’s unpreparedness are repetitive.