Palmer
Apple TV+ | Release Date (Streaming): January 29, 2021 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
53
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 21 Critic Reviews
Positive:
8
Mixed:
10
Negative:
3
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
Wall Street JournalJohn AndersonJan 29, 2021
Mr. Timberlake has displayed his many gifts in multiple formats, but nothing quite like “Palmer,” not in his character’s complexities or in the way he navigates Palmer through the social circumstances explored by Ms. Guerriero’s canny script. Young Ryder Allen is also something to see: He makes Sam’s matter-of-fact self-acceptance funny, yes, but inspiring as well. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperJan 28, 2021
We know we’re being manipulated from time to time, but the messaging is so earnest and the performances are so heartfelt, we’re willing to go with it. Call it a Comfort Movie. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesKatie WalshJan 29, 2021
The frankness with which Palmer addresses the very adult challenges that kids sometimes face is refreshing, not to mention the ways that kids can influence adults about living life authentically, before the undue influence of strict social norms takes hold. Read full review
70
CNNBrian LowryJan 29, 2021
Directed by actor and documentarian Fisher Stevens, "Palmer" certainly doesn't break any ground, but its simple story is sensitively told. Read full review
67
IndieWireDavid EhrlichJan 25, 2021
Palmer isn’t exactly high art, but it’s no small feat for something so predictable to avoid feeling dishonest. Read full review
63
RogerEbert.comMonica CastilloJan 29, 2021
Despite its rough edges, Fisher Stevens’ Palmer is a gentle drama. It doesn’t go as deep into Palmer’s emotions or mindset, but instead keeps them closely guarded in Timberlake’s gruff performance. Read full review
63
The Associated PressLindsey BahrJan 28, 2021
Compelling performances make Palmer watchable and fairly affecting despite the fact that we’ve seen this kind of thing so many times before. Read full review
63
Movie NationRoger MooreJan 27, 2021
If Palmer isn’t that demanding of star and audience, it’s a perfectly serviceable story for at least reminding the film world that you’re out there, available and perfectly capable of delivering the dramatic goods. Read full review
60
The Observer (UK)Simran HansJan 31, 2021
The showy singer turned actor struggles to modulate his natural charisma, a flirtatious, extroverted energy repeatedly leaking out where it should be muffled. Read full review
60
TheWrapElizabeth WeitzmanJan 28, 2021
What Palmer is, in every sense of the word, is decent. It’s familiar, and predictable, and a little bit hokey. But it’s also genuinely moving and surprisingly memorable, thanks to its two leads. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeJan 25, 2021
A capable cast helps the pic rise above its formulaic nature (take out a drunken hookup and some language, and this is a thoroughly mainstream family film, at least for families of non-homophobes), but doesn’t make it a must-watch by any means. Read full review
50
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike ScottJan 29, 2021
Palmer is a tiny film, but it’s got a big heart, and that helps make it a pleasant and uplifting diversion at a time when many of us could use one. Read full review
50
ABC NewsPeter TraversJan 29, 2021
In a shameless weeper that plays it strictly by the cliché book, compensation comes from the rugged sincerity of Justin Timberlake as an ex-con who becomes a surrogate dad to a gender-nonconformist seven-year-old boy, wonderfully acted by Ryder Allen. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubIgnatiy VishnevetskyJan 27, 2021
The best thing that can be said about Palmer is that it’s innocuous: overlong and sentimental, but rarely annoying. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineDerek SmithJan 25, 2021
After a while, the film’s parade of contrivances subsumes the acutely observed friendship at its core. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Barry HertzJan 25, 2021
Timberlake fares fine enough in his strong-and-mostly-silent role, displaying genuine chemistry with Wainwright (though let’s not bring in whatever the tabloids and gossip sites have to say about the matter). Allen is delightful in that refreshing way that only newcomers can be. And in terms of Apple TV+’s bid to become a more family-friendly competitor to Netflix, Palmer makes good, decent sense. Read full review
50
VarietyPeter DebrugeJan 25, 2021
Stevens (who has expert instincts in his documentary work) falls short of making this scenario entirely convincing. Take out a few “gritty” details that account for the film’s R rating, and Palmer is formulaic enough to pass for a faith-based movie. Read full review
40
The GuardianBenjamin LeeJan 25, 2021
Within the first 15 or so minutes of Apple TV+’s Palmer, something clicks in, a feeling of overwhelming familiarity, an inner voice quietly realising, “Ohhh, it’s that movie.” Read full review
30
Vanity FairRichard LawsonJan 30, 2021
The film doesn’t actually show character growth so much as it tells you it’s happening. Read full review
30
The New York TimesNatalia WinkelmanJan 29, 2021
That Palmer eventually embraces Sam as an ally in misfitdom is inevitable. So is the annoyance inspired by this prosaic masculine melodrama. Read full review
25
New York PostJohnny OleksinskiJan 29, 2021
For a film with the nuance of a nuke, Palmer’s by-the-numbers journey nods along like elevator music. Read full review
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