52
Metascore
43 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 90The Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthyThe Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthyReitman keeps a strong grip on all the aspects of the story to prevent it from becoming corny, unduly melodramatic or obvious.
- 77Film.comWilliam GossFilm.comWilliam GossJason Reitman’s adaptation of Joyce Maynard’s Labor Day is as consistently assured a piece of filmmaking as any we’ve seen from the filmmaker and very much in keeping with the decreasingly glib nature of his output.
- 70VarietyPeter DebrugeVarietyPeter DebrugeTo the extent that Adele’s hunger for affection resonates with audiences, what emerges is a powerful — if implausible — romance.
- 70Los Angeles TimesBetsy SharkeyLos Angeles TimesBetsy SharkeyThe film finds its footing as the weekend progresses and the temperature and tension — outside and in — rise.
- 63Slant MagazineSlant MagazineA better film would have had the gumption to maintain the poetic bleakness, rather than steer toward what ultimately feels like safe compromise.
- 60The GuardianCatherine ShoardThe GuardianCatherine ShoardWith its frank approach to the basics of human desire, its steady, intense focus on a small-town story which could have come straight from Douglas Sirk, Reitman's fifth feature appears to bear little resemblance the four that went before.
- 60The New YorkerAnthony LaneThe New YorkerAnthony LaneYou can love the look of the movie and still not believe a single word of it. To be fair, the climax is surprisingly touching; somehow, the residents of this cooked-up tale manage to earn our pity and support.
- 50The PlaylistChris WillmanThe PlaylistChris WillmanA full-immersion exercise in the old-fashioned women's weepie that skews far closer to Nicholas Sparks' brand of contrivance than Diablo Cody territory.
- 40The TelegraphTim RobeyThe TelegraphTim RobeyThough pristinely faithful to Maynard's book, it blurs inexorably into Nicholas Sparks.