74
Metascore
23 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 88Washington PostAnn HornadayWashington PostAnn HornadayWritten and directed with tart intelligence by Alice Wu, and featuring some dazzling breakout performances, this breezy, self-aware and utterly adorable coming-of-age tale keeps one eye on literary and cinematic classics, and the other firmly on a future full of exploration, self-expression and buoyant expectation.
- 80Los Angeles TimesKevin CrustLos Angeles TimesKevin CrustWu is confident enough to make the bold strokes her characters speak of and craft a movie that’s comfortably different.
- It’s refreshing to see a film that not only spotlights a queer Asian American woman but also treats her with such respect and tenderness.
- 70VarietyPeter DebrugeVarietyPeter DebrugeIt’s also made fresh by the myriad literary and cinematic references Wu weaves into Aster’s correspondence with “Paul.” With its slightly nerdy, play-on-wordy title, The Half of It alludes to the ancient Greek belief that two-faced humans were separated by the gods, devoting their lives to finding their lost soulmates (if you like the idea, read Plato’s “Symposium,” or check out “Hedwig and the Angry Inch”).
- 70Screen RantMolly FreemanScreen RantMolly FreemanThe Half of It puts a queer YA spin on a classic romance story, but Wu makes it her own - delivering a charming, sweet and altogether heartfelt movie.
- 67The A.V. ClubCaroline SiedeThe A.V. ClubCaroline SiedeAlthough The Half Of It mostly sticks to what’s swiftly becoming the Netflix teen rom-com house style (moody amber lighting, Wes Anderson-inspired framing, and nostalgia for John Hughes’ oeuvre), Wu creates several compellingly original images as well.
- 63The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Barry HertzThe Globe and Mail (Toronto)Barry HertzThe film is also weighed down with a hokey record-scratch moment, a triumphant big-game sequence and a church-set finale that seems to be aping "The Graduate" but doesn’t quite have the courage to fully embrace the comedy of the moment.
- 60The GuardianBenjamin LeeThe GuardianBenjamin LeeThe Half of It is a strong, warm-hearted and quietly progressive addition to the expanding Netflix teen movie pack which treats its target audience with the respect they deserve.