Lemon
Magnolia Pictures | Release Date: August 18, 2017 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
59
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 20 Critic Reviews
Positive:
9
Mixed:
9
Negative:
2
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
Screen DailyDavid D'ArcyJul 14, 2017
The debut feature by Janicza Bravo takes on a perennial comic genre yet, like its main character, it’s best described as a work in progress. Read full review
60
VarietyOwen GleibermanJul 14, 2017
Lemon is a comedy of miserablism that keeps poking you in the ribs — and, quite often, fails to hit the rib it’s aiming for. Yet it’s a watchable curio, because beneath it all the director, the Panamanian-born Janicza Bravo, has a more conventional sensibility than she lets on. Read full review
58
The Film StageJason OoiAug 16, 2017
Most of the humor stems from the humiliation of its protagonist — the binding thereof — and it is all quite funny, in a demented, cringy way that makes it difficult to sit through. Here, Bravo’s experience directing theater shows, as long extended shots with exquisite framing wring out the painful anxiety in each scene. Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleMarc SavlovSep 13, 2017
Although guaranteed to split critics and viewers alike, nobody can argue that Bravo and Gelman haven’t put their all into this absurdist, existential farce. The question remains: Will Lemon make or break that all-important first date comedy connection? (Personally, I’m sticking with Ruggero Deodato.) Read full review
50
Rolling StoneDavid FearAug 24, 2017
You can accuse Lemon of a lot of things. False advertising in the title, however, is not one of them. Read full review
50
RogerEbert.comSheila O'MalleyAug 18, 2017
There's a flatness in the end-result. The quirky is utterly predictable. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubIgnatiy VishnevetskyAug 16, 2017
Gelman and Bravo, who wrote the script together, are married in real life, a fact that somehow makes Lemon’s mix of broad caricature and broader relationship metaphors even clumsier. Read full review
40
Village VoiceAbbey BenderAug 24, 2017
A grating protagonist alone does not a bad film make, but the episodic, unsatisfying Lemon revels in purposeful nails-on-a-chalkboard unlikability. Read full review
40
We Got This CoveredMatt DonatoAug 17, 2017
Bravo’s abundance of inexplicable details makes for an interesting conundrum at first, but mystery soon fades. Read full review
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