Love Don't Cost a Thing
Warner Bros. Pictures | Release Date: December 12, 2003 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
37
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 23 Critic Reviews
Positive:
3
Mixed:
11
Negative:
9
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
Sweet and kind of touching, and I liked it. The difference, I think, is that the new one is lower on cynicism and higher on wisdom, and might actually contain some truth about the agonies of high school insecurity. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesKevin Thomas
Often rowdy and uproarious, the film also has surprising depth and subtext. Read full review
70
Film ThreatKevin Carr
A fun movie. It accomplishes exactly what it sets out to do. It’s a great first date movie. Read full review
60
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
Kids who are still subject to the slings and arrows of high school will find this a lot funnier than I did, though I did get a bang out of Kal Penn, Kevin Christy, and Kenan Thompson as Cannon's car-crazy pals. Read full review
58
Seattle Post-IntelligencerSean Axmaker
Director Troy Beyer, who adapted the original screenplay, can't seem to decide if this is a morality play or a music-video fantasy. Read full review
50
The New York TimesDave Kehr
The cast is uniformly high spirited and attractive, and Ms. Beyer's direction, apart from a few over-weighted Wellesian camera angles, is functional. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam Lacey
The music, at least, is welcome. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleCarla Meyer
Clocking in at 105 minutes, Love Don't Cost a Thing drags for stretches. The nicest thing about most standardized teen movies is their brevity. When we all know where it's going, it shouldn't take so long to get there. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
The movie is so dependant on its source material that it fails to put Carter, Thompson, Penn, and Christy to better use. Read full review
50
Washington PostStephen Hunter
I can't recall the original, or even if I saw it or not. But this variation certainly makes its points effectively, in what must be a more superheated milieu. Read full review
40
Dallas ObserverGregory Weinkauf
Sadly, though, the movie as a whole feels blatantly dedicated to fleecin' da kidz. Read full review
40
The Hollywood ReporterMichael Rechtshaffen
Instantly forgettable. Read full review
40
L.A. WeeklyErnest Hardy
Remains short on charm, purpose or laughs. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleMarjorie Baumgarten
Looks mostly like the same-old, same-old. Read full review
38
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
But where the original was slight but sweet, the remake is depressingly superficial and cynical. Read full review
30
The A.V. ClubKeith Phipps
This is teen product at its most generic. Read full review
30
VarietyRobert Koehler
Stuffed with attitude but just as hackneyed as the original, Love Don't Cost a Thing brings a year of exceptionally lame youth comedies to a fitting conclusion. Read full review
30
TV Guide MagazineAngel Cohn
All the money in the world couldn't have saved actress-turned-filmmaker Troy Beyer's lewd, obnoxious, product placement-laden remake of the sweet and simple romantic comedy "Can't Buy Me Love." Read full review
25
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
The result is an atrociously unfunny, unromantic, and unpleasant product. Read full review
25
Entertainment WeeklyScott Brown
You realize you're watching a snuff film, where the victim isn't just teen innocence but teen romance. Read full review
25
Chicago TribuneAllison Benedikt
About as sharp an updated version of the original as is Jennifer Lopez's song of the same name a modern, Latina version of the Beatles classic. Read full review
20
Village VoiceLaura Sinagra
Even in the teen-flick "Sweet Valley" of 1987, there were few places outside John Hughes's brain where paying somebody to be your girl didn't look like prostitution. Yet somebody made the Slow-Times-at-Clueless-High stinker Can't Buy Me Love. Read full review
0
New York PostLou Lumenick
A sexed-up Afterschool Special pretty much guaranteed to render audiences comatose. Read full review
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