Liberal Arts 2012

Critics score:
70 / 100

Reviews provided by RottenTomatoes

Mary F. Pols, TIME Magazine: Liberal Arts calls to mind more the spirit of an alumni magazine, so bathed in nostalgia for academia that you expect autumn leaves to flutter down to the theater floor. Read more

Walter V. Addiego, San Francisco Chronicle: There are some entertaining and moving scenes here, but, overall, it's a bit softhearted for my taste. Read more

Kathleen Murphy, MSN Movies: Liberal Arts is so sweet and safe an undertaking, it's like getting baptized in warm bathwater. Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: An artful blend of tenderness and sharp, clear-eyed observations. Its characters talk like real people -- who also happen to be smart, appealing and thoughtful. Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: Radnor ... finds both wit and truth in his characters as they face, in their different ways, growing up. Read more

Nathan Rabin, AV Club: The film's trembling sincerity and preciousness betray the debt Radnor still owes to the oeuvre of Zach Braff, another sitcom star turned sad-sack independent auteur. Read more

Loren King, Boston Globe: It's talky, but this suits the idea of college as the last bastion of animated and engaging conversation for its own sake. Read more

Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post: Liberal Arts maneuvers its story in a philosophical way that is anything but detached. There's a warmth here that reminds audiences why college -- and, dare we say, their core curriculums? -- matter. Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: For a film about aging and romanticism, "Liberal Arts" feels like it needs a more mature script. Read more

Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: The wittiest, most perceptive campus comedy in years. Read more

Amanda Mae Meyncke, Film.com: ...sincere without being schmaltzy, evocative without being arrogant and lively without being pretentious - well, without being too pretentious. Read more

Justin Lowe, Hollywood Reporter: A coming-of-middle-age comedy running on somewhat less than a full tank. Read more

Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: "Liberal Arts" is a light and lively comedy of manners about college, literature and a midlife crisis that hits earlier than expected. Read more

Chase Whale, Film.com: Poetic justice Is served in insightful LIBERAL ARTS Read more

Mark Jenkins, NPR: Radnor seems pretty impressed with the version of himself he's playing. Read more

Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: Like a too-ardent admirer who sends unwanted poems, the movie's squishy heart is too much. Read more

Kyle Smith, New York Post: Josh Radnor is a nice-looking, button-eyed, completely harmless sitcom personality ("How I Met Your Mother," apparently) who has gotten the impression he's a filmmaker. Read more

Stephen Holden, New York Times: The harder Mr. Radnor strains to make you love his alter ego, the more resistant you become. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: Liberal Arts is a parfait - a light, enjoyable concoction that goes down easily but doesn't linger. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: It's the kind of film that appeals powerfully to me; to others, maybe not so much. Read more

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: Elizabeth Olsen is beguiling in Liberal Arts, and Josh Radnor has a true filmmaker's eye for detail and atmosphere. Read more

Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: "Liberal Arts" sticks to the syllabus of a decidedly minor movie, but its humanities faculty is first-rate. Read more

Alonso Duralde, TheWrap: Full of quippy dialogue, banal observations, paper-thin characters and pat resolutions, Liberal Arts is two deodorant commercials away from being a forgettable new TV sitcom. Read more

Cath Clarke, Time Out: As a comedy of manners, 'Liberal Arts' is perfectly likeable.But you might find its talky touchy-feeliness on the smug side. Read more

Joshua Rothkopf, Time Out: You'll recognize these characters and the wisdom they arrive at, but it's too bad our hero is such a deeply ethical square. Read more

Robert Koehler, Variety: The film [feels] perilously close to widescreen sitcom. Read more

Andrew Schenker, Village Voice: Despite the possible creepiness of the scenario, Radnor plays the scenes between himself and Olsen with restrained intelligence, understanding the ways both characters project their uncertainties and desires onto each other. Read more

Stephanie Merry, Washington Post: "Liberal Arts" has its bright moments and it's an enjoyable watch, but it probably won't serve up outbursts of laughter or moments of epiphany. Read more