Caramel
Roadside Attractions | Release Date: February 1, 2008 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
70
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 26 Critic Reviews
Positive:
24
Mixed:
2
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
A brisk dramatic comedy that combines melodrama, humor and social critique in equal measure. Read full review
80
Film ThreatJeff Beresford-Howe
Caramel will likely be the Lebanese selection for Academy Award for “Best Foreign Film;” it’s inconceivable to me that it won’t win, but it’ll still be an injustice if it does. Caramel deserves to be in the categories with the big boys, so to speak, and whoever wins for Best Actress will be the second most deserving actress of 2007. Read full review
80
TimeRichard Schickel
It may be a first film, but Labaki, employing a cast that is full of non-professional actresses, is a slick and knowing filmmaker. Her multiple plot lines are neatly braided and though her characters are conventionalized they are also charming and capable of surprising us. Read full review
80
EmpireAngie Errigo
An effective look at women's lives in a decidedly non-Hollywood setting. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
A Lebanese variation on sweetly soapy dramas about Women Who Bond With Wet Hair. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubNathan Rabin
At its best, Caramel boasts a quietly engaging slice-of-slice casualness. Read full review
75
USA TodayClaudia Puig
Caramel is a sweeter and more believable version of "Steel Magnolias," Middle Eastern style. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleWalter Addiego
Well-made and modestly enjoyable. Read full review
75
Christian Science MonitorPeter Rainer
In some ways, this glossily enjoyable movie is a lot closer to Hollywood than Beirut. At times, I thought I was watching some oddball Lebanese variant on "Barbershop." Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
Labaki, who studied filmmaking in Lebanon and France, has a deft touch and nice instincts. Read full review
75
PremiereRyan Stewart
The penetrating musical score, with its memorable shadings of emotional danger, the snappy and confident pacing and the emergence of 33-year-old Labaki as an international talent to watch all combine to make the film satisfying confection. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeTy Burr
Warmly shot (by Yves Sehnaoui) and comes with a strong, burbling soundtrack of Arab pop; it slides down easily and occasionally too easily. Read full review
75
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
It would be easy to categorize the Lebanese women's picture Caramel as a Levantine combination of "Sex in the City" and "Beauty Shop," but it's actually a lot smarter, sharper and deeper than that. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeFore
Warm-hearted and accessible, it could benefit from good word of mouth in a limited art house run, particularly among audiences who like their rom-coms laced with foreign ingredients. Read full review
70
VarietyJay Weissberg
Fresh from commercials and musicvids, novice helmer (and star) Nadine Labaki gathers five women around a Beirut beauty salon to address a range of issues facing Lebanese women -- from extramarital affairs to religious dictates. Low on calories and not especially original but always diverting. Read full review
70
Village VoiceElla Taylor
Beauty-parlor romantic comedy has been done to death and beyond, but what Caramel lacks in originality is redeemed by its exuberant sensuality and astute commentary on the way Lebanese women sit uncomfortably in the crosshairs of their country’s clash between patriarchal tradition and Westernized modernity. Read full review
70
SalonAndrew O'Hehir
It's a reassuring and delicious film, but in no sense an adventurous one. Read full review
70
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
All but one of the actresses in Caramel are nonprofessionals -- not unprofessional, just untrained in the craft -- and they are, to a woman, enchanting. So is this Lebanese comedy. Read full review
70
The New York TimesA.O. Scott
You are likely to remember this charming film, directed by Nadine Labaki, less for its gently comic, mildly melodramatic plot than for its friendly and inviting atmosphere. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
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 full review
70
Washington PostAnn Hornaday
Smarter and more poignant than the average chick flick. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleMarjorie Baumgarten
The first-time feature director, co-writer, and star of Caramel, Labaki, can be forgiven the commonness of her dramatic setting because of the gracefulness of her storytelling and the strength of her vision. Read full review
63
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
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 full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam Lacey
The most unexpected thing about the Lebanese film Caramel is its predictability. Read full review
50
New York PostV.A. Musetto
Caramel, by the way, gets its name from a blend of sugar, lemon juice and water that is boiled until it turns into a paste used to remove unwanted hair in the Middle East. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneTasha Robinson
The film itself, while charming and gently funny, is entirely unexceptional. Read full review
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