Dear White People 2014

Christy Lemire, ChristyLemire.com: Writer-director Justin Simien takes a sledgehammer to the rosy notion that we've achieved a post-racial utopia - but he does it with great wit, bite and flair - in his debut feature, Dear White People. Read more

Richard Roeper, Chicago Sun-Times: Screenplay is tight, funny, smart and insightful, and [the] direction has just enough indie feel without becoming too self-conscious or preachy. Read more

Wesley Morris, Grantland: The gags create a fuse to a firecracker finale. Read more

Sara Stewart, New York Post: This sharp, stylish comedy does pack quite a punch when it hits its stride ... Read more

John Hartl, Seattle Times: As a first-time director, Simien sometimes lets his script flirt with talkiness, but with dialogue this sharp and unpredictable, who's complaining? Read more

Justin Chang, Variety: While it veers toward smugness and self-satisfaction at times, the Spike-Lee-lite exercise nonetheless heralds a fresh and funny new voice on the scene in writer-director Justin Simien ... Read more

A.A. Dowd, AV Club: If Dear White People is Simien's School Daze, complete with academic setting and DIY scrappiness, does that mean he has a Do The Right Thing in him, too? Read more

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: A film that is unafraid to tackle a subject as difficult and complex as race - and does so with intelligence, courage and humor. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: You have to see this movie, and talk about it, to believe it. Read more

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader: The issues are more interesting than the characters, though Simien provides a welcome and fairly trenchant [film]. Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: It's a slyly provocative achievement and a serious calling card for its writer-director, Justin Simien. Read more

Adam Graham, Detroit News: Simien draws strong performances from his talented cast and has a clean visual sensibility. But he's still sifting through the issues he raises and the movie suffers from his lack of conviction. Read more

Cary Darling, Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com: The best moments get to the heart of Simien's thesis that what is supposed to be post-racial America isn't all that much different from what came before. Read more

Leah Greenblatt, Entertainment Weekly: The movie finds real power in its climax ... Read more

Justin Lowe, Hollywood Reporter: An edgy premise and memorable cast make for a potent first impression. Read more

Lorraine Ali, Los Angeles Times: The complicated narratives don't distract from what this film does best: make you laugh about the things that make you furious. Read more

Tony Hicks, San Jose Mercury News: It will make some people squirm and might hurt some viewers' feelings, but will likely make them laugh along the way. One way or another, it's a film that will prompt plenty of conversation on the way home. Read more

Rafer Guzman, Newsday: One of the freshest, funniest, boldest debut films to come along in years. Read more

Richard Brody, New Yorker: A rickety contraption of issue-oriented talking points delivered by characters-centrally, four black students-who are constructed to fit the plot. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: Its jokes (and insights) about race, class and prejudice are provocative in the very best sense. Read more

Jordan Hoffman, New York Daily News: Much as in life - but rarely in movies - everyone is at least partially sympathetic. And everyone has a bit of a point. Read more

A.O. Scott, New York Times: As smart and fearless a debut as I have seen from an American filmmaker in quite some time: knowing but not snarky, self-aware but not solipsistic, open to influence and confident in its own originality. Read more

Tirdad Derakhshani, Philadelphia Inquirer: Writer-director Justin Simien's searing, sharp-edged, and wildly intelligent comedy about race relations on an American college campus. Read more

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: Here's a comic riff on race relations in the Obama era that hits its targets far more than it misses. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: A witty movie and in many places a funny one. Read more

Aisha Harris, Slate: I nodded my head in agreement many times while watching Dear White People, but I can't say I was ever truly compelled by the story it tells. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: I love this movie. Read more

Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Although the characters don't lapse into stereotypes, neither are they sufficiently funny or fierce to engage us in the issues they raise. The movie is a windy debate, the kind that is suited for the safe confines of a college campus. Read more

Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail: The pitch on Dear White People is that it's "Do the Right Thing for the Obama generation," which is both an oversell and a disservice to Justin Simien's witty satire about race relations on a fictional Ivy League campus. Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: The message gets a little scattershot and repetitive at times, but he hits his mark more often than not. Read more

Inkoo Kang, TheWrap: A timely and important look at black identity and how it's informed by by stereotypes in the media Read more

Tom Huddleston, Time Out: Where it scores big is its wealth of ideas-visual, emotional, cultural-and its deep well of bitter, voice-of-experience rage Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: The film takes a clear-eyed approach to the complex subject of racial identity and leavens it with wit. Read more

Stephanie Zacharek, Village Voice: One of the sharpest and most audacious comedies of the year ... Read more

Bilge Ebiri, New York Magazine/Vulture: The film is called Dear White People, but it might as well be called Dear Everybody. It's hilarious, and just about everyone will wince with recognition at some point in the film. Read more

Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: It's true that satire is the perfect weapon of reason, and Justin Simien deploys it with resourcefulness, cool assurance and eagle-eyed aim. Read more