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A.O. Scott, New York Times: In the Beirut beauty salon where most of Caramel takes place, women of various shapes, sizes, ages and backgrounds gather to bond and gossip. Read more
Andrea Gronvall, Chicago Reader: Labaki elicits expressive performances from a cast of amateurs, aided by Khalad Mouzanar's entrancing score and Yves Sehnaoui's lush cinematography. Read more
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: Don't expect an elegant, fully realized production. Do expect, though, to be touched and surprised by a string of intimate, urgent vignettes. Read more
Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: Delightful. Read more
Nathan Rabin, AV Club: At its best, Caramel boasts a quietly engaging slice-of-slice casualness. Read more
Ty Burr, Boston Globe: In a culture where female sexuality is problematic at best, how is a woman supposed to feed both body and heart? Through makeovers, support, and necessary lies, Caramel curtly answers. Read more
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: It is sweet but not saccharine, an intimate film that doesn't stint on the desperation and anxiety that go along with the search for love. Read more
Tasha Robinson, Chicago Tribune: There's a pleasant, easygoing charm to Caramel, largely stemming from Labaki's rare determination to depict Beirut as something other than a war-torn, slowly recovering battleground. Read more
Joe Leydon, Houston Chronicle: Its chief focus is the bonding between women who rely on each for support, and who really appreciate a place where they can let down their hair. Read more
Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor: Everything that happens in this movie is predictable, and yet that's part of its modest charm. Read more
Tom Long, Detroit News: One of those small films that give a glimpse into a culture that's both foreign and familiar. It's filled with real-life touches and small insights and wonderfully human characters, and the whole thing feels as real as crossing the street. Read more
Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: The kvetches of regulars at a cheery Beirut beauty salon couldn't be more familiar -- and that's the slender charm of Caramel, a Lebanese variation on sweetly soapy dramas about Women Who Bond With Wet Hair. Read more
Amy Nicholson, I.E. Weekly: Consider it 'Fried Green Falafel.' Read more
Ella Taylor, L.A. Weekly: Labaki treats her characters with wistful tenderness, raucous practicality, and enough romantic chutzpah to give almost every woman a moment, at least, when she can have exactly what she wants. Read more
Craig Outhier, Miami Herald: Wistful tale of friendship and solidarity. Read more
Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: As tart, and tantalizing, as that little pot of caramel already bubbling on the stove, just waiting to bring delight -- or quick stabbing pain. Read more
V.A. Musetto, New York Post: Uneven, fluctuating between poignancy...and fluff. Read more
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: Set in a culture caught between East and West, between male chauvinism and female empowerment, Labaki's movie isn't about to revolutionize a genre -- its charms are modest, but many. Read more
James Berardinelli, ReelViews: It's refreshing for a romantic comedy not to follow the formula by rote. I only wish I could be as enthusiastic about the amount of screen time accorded to certain characters who are more tedious than endearing. Read more
Walter V. Addiego, San Francisco Chronicle: Well-made and modestly enjoyable seriocomedy. Read more
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: Caramel is a bittersweet treat. Read more
Bill Stamets, Chicago Sun-Times: Perceptive and poignant, Caramel observes the love lives of the establishment's owner, her employees and their customers. Read more
Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail: As sugary as it may be, Caramel has a likeable edge to it, both in the natural performances of the mostly non-professional cast and the script's sardonic bluntness about social hypocrisies and the women's self-deception. Read more
Susan Walker, Toronto Star: [Writer-Director] Labaki writes and directs with a sure hand for capturing universal truths. Read more
Richard Schickel, TIME Magazine: Just another good-looking, gently humorous, pleasantly romanticized little comedy, which ends with everyone a little wiser than they began. Read more
Claudia Puig, USA Today: A sweeter and more believable version of Steel Magnolias, Middle Eastern style. Read more
Jay Weissberg, Variety: A sweet affair, hiding any bitter undertones under a sprightly, glistening exterior. Read more
Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: Filmgoers expecting My Big Fat Lebanese Waxing are in for a bigger treat: Nadine Labaki, who wrote and directed the film, possesses an astute instinct for restraint that makes Caramel smarter ans more poignantthan the average chick flick. Read more