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
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
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