Happiness for Beginners
Netflix | Release Date: July 21, 2023 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
48
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 11 Critic Reviews
Positive:
2
Mixed:
7
Negative:
2
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleJul 27, 2023
Kemper is good throughout. Her radiant likability gives her the power to sell weak material, which means she will often be offered weak material. But there’s enough in Happiness for Beginners to make me glad that she did it. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comNell MinowJul 27, 2023
The story's heart is Kemper’s Helen, of course, and this role is a perfect fit. Helen is less sunny than most of Kemper’s roles, allowing her to show more subtlety, depth, and complexity. Read full review
60
Screen RantFerdosa AbdiJul 27, 2023
With an amusing ensemble cast, a sturdy script, lovely filmmaking, and the power of its leads' chemistry, Happiness For Beginners is a modest delight. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesNoel MurrayJul 30, 2023
This movie’s heart is in the right place, and its company is pleasant enough. But by its final half-hour, it starts to feel too much like a rote recitation from a rom-com to-do list. Read full review
50
IndieWireDavid EhrlichJul 27, 2023
This veritable “Eat, Pray, Hike” leaves no trace of originality or dramatic consequence. The advantages it has over the likes of “We Wish You a Married Christmas” and “Royally Ever After” are twofold: A likable cast, and dignified source material. Read full review
50
VarietyCatherine BrayJul 27, 2023
Well-behaved to a fault, Happiness for Beginners is sweet but a little tentative. Read full review
50
The New York TimesClaire ShafferJul 27, 2023
Happiness for Beginners is inoffensive to a fault. Read full review
40
The Hollywood ReporterLovia GyarkyeJul 27, 2023
The woman at its center remains opaque, her romance is listless and her journey to self-discovery becomes an endurance test. Read full review
40
The GuardianLauren MechlingJul 27, 2023
Throughout it all, Kemper visibly strains to temper her comedic impulses. Sometimes she delivers her lines with a quickness that feels refreshingly out of place, but it’s mostly call-and-response songs along the trails and heart to hearts under the stars. Read full review
38
Movie NationRoger MooreAug 2, 2023
When you’ve wasted a perfectly good Blythe Danner appearance and then weighed down your late second act with “big secrets” that would drown a better comedy than this, you’re not making the case that Netflix should sign you to a lifetime contract, no matter how charmingly Irish you are. Read full review
25
ObserverLaura BabiakJul 27, 2023
There are some pretty shots of nature and a few stabs at humor, but don’t be mistaken—this movie is background noise at best. Read full review
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