Meet the Patels
Alchemy | Release Date: September 11, 2015 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
70
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 18 Critic Reviews
Positive:
13
Mixed:
5
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
Charlotte ObserverLawrence ToppmanOct 2, 2015
This story of a guy looking for love in many of the wrong places turns out to be one of the happiest surprises of the movie year. Read full review
83
The PlaylistKatie WalshSep 13, 2015
Meet the Patels is a fascinating window into the cultural practice of arranged marriages through a contemporary lens and anyone who’s been through the trials and tribulations of dating (or parenting those who are) can relate. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranSep 10, 2015
Meet The Patels is more than just a hoot. Its candor and empathy allow it to make keen points about love, marriage, family and the unexpected complications that American freedoms can bring to immigrant lives. Read full review
80
New York Daily NewsJordan HoffmanSep 9, 2015
Funny and fascinating documentary that pulls off an amazing trick: Everyone will be able to relate to Patel’s struggle, despite the specifics of his case as a 21st-century Indian-American. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleDavid LewisSep 24, 2015
A clever hybrid of documentary and romantic comedy. Read full review
75
Boston GlobePeter KeoughSep 17, 2015
What Meet the Patels could use is a little more meat. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerMolly EichelSep 17, 2015
Ravi is an affable guide through the world of Indian dating, and Champa and Vasant are adorable and hilarious. Read full review
75
Washington PostJen ChaneySep 17, 2015
With its appealingly conflicted hero and generous sense of humor, Meet the Patels has the breezy touch of a scripted romantic comedy. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comOdie HendersonSep 11, 2015
A charming, informative and funny documentary. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineElise NakhnikianSep 7, 2015
In this picaresque documentary, the lightly comic musings of a likeable, somewhat nerdy Indian-American actor go surprisingly deep. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckSep 9, 2015
Meet the Patels is home movie-style filmmaking at its most boisterously entertaining. Read full review
70
Village VoiceAbbey BenderSep 8, 2015
Meet the Patels is a good-natured documentary that plays like a romantic comedy. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyKevin P. SullivanSep 10, 2015
In its current form as a documentary, Meet the Patels is a charming and moderately enlightening examination of what happens when an American-raised man recovering from a bad breakup attempts to find a wife through the kind of arranged marriage that has kept his parents blissful for decades. Read full review
60
Arizona RepublicBarbara VanDenburghOct 8, 2015
Less obvious is how his parents will react should Ravi break ways with tradition and confess his true feelings. Their struggle to maintain their sense of cultural identity in a rapidly changing world is far more moving than any grown man’s commitment issues, even when that grown man is as ingratiating as Ravi. Read full review
60
The New York TimesAndy WebsterSep 10, 2015
Meet the Patels is a tidy, easygoing documentary in which peripheral players prove more intriguing than its central focus. Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubTasha RobinsonSep 9, 2015
Meet The Patels does offer a light, hearty overview of a subculture and a family, with plenty of disarming humor. And it perfectly captures the paradoxes of family relationships—the way affection, respect, resentment, and exasperation can all blur into each other inside a close-knit family. Read full review
50
New York PostKyle SmithSep 10, 2015
Only in the heartfelt closing minutes does the film cut any deeper than a tired episode of a sitcom about children of immigrants complaining about their hopelessly old-fashioned parents. Read full review
42
Portland OregonianMarc MohanSep 24, 2015
Just because it's how they did things in the old country doesn't excuse clinging to these outdated, oppressive traditions, even if Ravi manages to negotiate them with surprising good humor. Read full review
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