Living Out Loud
New Line Cinema | Release Date: October 30, 1998 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
64
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 23 Critic Reviews
Positive:
13
Mixed:
10
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
L.A. WeeklyF. X. Feeney
LaGravenese (writer of "The Fisher King," adapter of "The Bridges of Madison County," making his directorial debut) eschews distractions of style and molds our attention to the performances. Read full review
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
It's the film you need to see in order to understand why the ending of "As Good As It Gets" was phony. Read full review
80
SlateDavid Edelstein
Living Out Loud becomes an ode to openness, to letting in everything that the world throws at you. Read full review
80
EmpireBob McCabe
This is a film about performances and features simply some of the best seen in years. Read full review
80
The New YorkerDavid Denby
The sinews in Holly Hunter's neck and arms tighten like cables hauled in by a winch; she's all wired up, and in Richard LaGravenese's lovely comedy about loneliness in New York she uses the tension as a source of comedy. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
Living Out Loud is not a monumental motion picture. In fact, in many ways, it's quite the opposite - a quiet, unassuming story of friendship and love that uses richly-developed characters to charm its audience. Read full review
75
Rolling StonePeter Travers
LaGravenese may be unsteady at the helm, but his film insinuates like a torch song that keeps messing with your head. Read full review
70
Washington PostRita Kempley
This is screenwriter Richard LaGravenese's directorial debut and now that he's in charge, he finally has his chance to give dialogue and character their due. Read full review
70
The New York TimesJanet Maslin
The filmmaker has borrowed from Chekhov the soul-baring introspection that can be so ineffable on the page or stage yet becomes so damply sensitive and dramatically vague on screen. Read full review
70
The A.V. ClubScott Tobias
LaGravenese lets real-life messiness keep it off a straight track, coming up with an unexpected and touching portrait of platonic friendship. Read full review
70
Chicago ReaderLisa Alspector
The fluidity with which the story frequently makes the transition between the different characters' perspectives is refreshing, even daring. Read full review
70
NewsweekDavid Ansen
Living Out Loud is far from seamless -- the last third of the movie has a choppy rhythm and an ending that doesn't quite work -- but it's alive in all the ways that count. Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
So why does the thing play like a mediocre sitcom stripped of its laugh-track? Read full review
60
Film ThreatJ.D. LaFrance
LaGravenese has an uncanny ability to write realistic female characters. Read full review
60
VarietyDaniel M. Kimmel
This feminist comedy shot through with fantasies about the travails of newly single womanhood strikes some rich chords, but doesn't quite put together a complete tune. Read full review
60
Village VoiceGary Susman
Richard LaGravenese peppers his directorial debut with the narrative trickery (fantasy sequences, flashbacks) that often tangles his sceenplays ("The Fisher King," "Beloved"). Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleSteve Davis
Unfortunately, there's not much of a story to go with Hunter's engaging performance and LaGravenese's words. Read full review
50
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
The plot is promising and the acting is earnest, but in the end the movie doesn't quite work. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleRuthe Stein
Much about Living Out Loud is pretty far-fetched, but at least it accurately portrays the dating possibilities for newly divorced women of a certain age. Read full review
50
San Francisco ExaminerJane Ganahl
It fails to capitalize on its own gifts, coming darn close to greatness but never quite catching the brass ring. Read full review
50
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
Living Out Loud is like "An Unmarried Woman" recast as a sitcom-cute update of Marty. Read full review
40
Washington PostMichael O'Sullivan
What little grace there is in Living Out Loud (and there isn't much) is all in LaGravenese's script, not on the screen. Read full review
40
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
Ostensibly an "adult comedy" about serious things, screenwriter Richard LaGravenese's disjointed directing debut rings profoundly false, a story about class distinctions and suffering conceived and executed in privilege. Read full review
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