Liberal Arts
IFC Films | Release Date: September 14, 2012 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
55
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 24 Critic Reviews
Positive:
10
Mixed:
12
Negative:
2
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
91
Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanSep 7, 2012
Olsen, moody and apple-cheeked and intellectually avid, proves a true star: She turns being wiser than her years into an authentic generational state. Read full review
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertSep 19, 2012
There is a word to explain why this particular film so appealed to me. Reader, that word is "escapism." If you understand why I used the word "reader" in just that way, you are possibly an ideal viewer for this movie. Read full review
88
USA TodayClaudia PuigSep 13, 2012
An artful blend of tenderness and sharp, clear-eyed observations. Its characters talk like real people -- who also happen to be smart, appealing and thoughtful. Read full review
80
EmpireIan FreerSep 30, 2012
It lacks filmmaking fireworks but Liberal Arts is a B+ for Josh Radnor: strong writing, great performances (Olsen is the real deal) and a touching, upbeat tale for the big-brained and big-hearted. Read full review
75
St. Louis Post-DispatchJoe WilliamsSep 28, 2012
Sticks to the syllabus of a decidedly minor movie, but its humanities faculty is first-rate. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliSep 21, 2012
Liberal Arts is a parfait - a light, enjoyable concoction that goes down easily but doesn't linger. The movie is great "in the moment" but may be difficult to recall with any specificity after time has elapsed. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeLoren KingSep 20, 2012
Radnor's script is more bittersweet than laugh-out-loud funny. Read full review
67
Portland OregonianMarc MohanSep 27, 2012
More convincing are the performances from Jenkins and Allison Janney, as another of Jesse's old profs. Both these pros bring more depth to their supporting characters than either of the promising, but, alas, young, leads do to theirs. Read full review
63
Rolling StonePeter TraversSep 13, 2012
Radnor and Olsen are so funny and touching you want to say happythankyoumoreplease. What you get is frustratingly less. Still, to the movie's refreshingly uncynical credit, you feel for them. Read full review
63
Slant MagazineR. Kurt OsenlundSep 12, 2012
Liberal Arts provides a peek into what makes Josh Radnor tick, and what he cares about outside his mainstream-targeted sitcom. Read full review
60
Total FilmJonathan CrockerOct 1, 2012
An amusing, thoughtful romcom about love, literature and coming of age. Whatever age. Read full review
60
Los Angeles TimesBetsy SharkeySep 13, 2012
The bookish group at the heart of this talky film is having such a grand time trading tart exchanges their mood proves infectious. The sparring helps offset some of the contrivances that make Liberal Arts less buttoned up than it should be - so an A for effort and a C for execution. Read full review
60
Time OutJoshua RothkopfSep 11, 2012
There's too much going on here - of a winning, thoughtful nature - to dismiss Josh Radnor's back-to-college romance as the nostalgia bath it mainly is. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterJustin LoweSep 7, 2012
A coming-of-middle-age comedy running on somewhat less than a full tank, Liberal Arts possesses enough comedic moments to approach crowd-pleasing status. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleWalter AddiegoSep 30, 2012
Nostalgia for the groves of academe weighs heavily on Liberal Arts, which both exploits and undermines romanticized memories of campus life. Read full review
50
The New York TimesStephen HoldenSep 13, 2012
The harder Mr. Radnor strains to make you love his alter ego, the more resistant you become. Read full review
50
TimeMary PolsSep 13, 2012
In its lesser moments, of which there are more, Liberal Arts calls to mind more the spirit of an alumni magazine, so bathed in nostalgia for academia that you expect autumn leaves to flutter down to the theater floor. Read full review
50
Village VoiceAndrew SchenkerSep 11, 2012
Still, in the central relationship, the writer-director shows an understanding of human interaction that marks his second feature as a quantum leap beyond his stilted debut, "Happythankyoumoreplease." Read full review
50
VarietyRobert KoehlerSep 7, 2012
This makes the film feel perilously close to widescreen sitcom, as do montages of New York set to Beethoven's Sixth Symphony. Read full review
42
The A.V. ClubNathan RabinSep 12, 2012
Liberal Arts has the tony look and feel of a vintage Woody Allen movie, but the sophistication is all surface-level. Radnor will never ascend to Allen's rarified realm, but judging by his forgettable first two features, he could give Ed Burns competition. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleKimberley JonesSep 27, 2012
Liberal Arts is not unlikable: There are some intelligent observations about how humans woo, and the film is so suffused with sincerity you want to give it a pat on the head just for trying so hard. Read full review
40
New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierSep 13, 2012
Liberal Arts is at its most nauseating when we hear Jesse and Zibby read their oh-so-self-aware love letters. Read full review
38
New York PostKyle SmithSep 13, 2012
Liberal Arts comes to us produced by Josh Radnor. Written by Josh Radnor. Starring Josh Radnor. Josh Radnor is much like Woody Allen, except for the talent. Read full review
30
NPRMark JenkinsSep 14, 2012
Jesse's nobility is one of the primary reasons Liberal Arts is so hard to take. Read full review
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