Quinceañera
Sony Pictures Classics | Release Date: August 4, 2006 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
72
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 31 Critic Reviews
Positive:
28
Mixed:
3
Negative:
0
Watch Now
Stream On
Buy on
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Expand

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
One of the most perceptive movies about the gentrification of Los Angeles. Read full review
100
San Francisco ChronicleRuthe Stein
Glatzer and Westmoreland live in Echo Park, and they have given their film a remarkable sense of place. Read full review
89
Austin ChronicleMarrit Ingman
The film is a wonderful choice for older teens and has considerable crossover appeal for adult audiences. Read full review
88
PremierePeter Debruge
On the surface, each of these characters fits a familiar Latino stereotype--teen harlot, "el bandido" and male buffoon--yet the movie insists on giving each person dimension. Read full review
83
Seattle Post-IntelligencerGianni Truzzi
What Quinceañera does offer is charm, sensitivity and intelligence. Read full review
83
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
A sweet and wise little film. Read full review
83
Christian Science MonitorPeter Rainer
Despite much of the turmoil depicted, there is a sweetness to parts of this film that is reminiscent of the 1961 British movie "A Taste of Honey." Read full review
80
Film ThreatDon R. Lewis
A pretty great little movie. Read full review
80
The New York TimesStephen Holden
As smart and warmhearted an exploration of an upwardly mobile immigrant culture as American independent cinema has produced. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneJessica Reaves
Quinceanera took both the dramatic Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award at this year's Sundance Film Festival, and it's easy to see why. Read full review
75
USA TodayClaudia Puig
Quinceañera is a spirited and poignant exploration of the bonds and challenges facing a Latino family and the pains of a community undergoing a transition of its own. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
At its core, Quinceañera, a modest but remarkably poignant comedy, is the story of a neighborhood. Read full review
75
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
Using a semi-documentary approach, Glatzer and Westmoreland circumvent the considerable potential for sentimentality inherent in their story, instead taking a frank and direct approach to kids who, while far from hardened, are nowhere near innocent, either. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
The film is suffused with the generous, nonjudgmental spirit of Uncle Tomas, whose live-and-let-live attitude warms like the sun and who helps Magdalena and Carlos make the safe passage from adolescence to maturity. Read full review
75
Baltimore SunChris Kaltenbach
Quinceanera may be the year's most nonjudgmental film, and therein lies both its greatest strength and most naggingly troublesome weakness. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubNathan Rabin
Quinceañera sketches its characters and conflicts with warmth and empathy. Read full review
70
SlateDana Stevens
Quinceañera is a rare bird of an indie, a sharp-eyed analysis of class conflict that still manages to leave you as choked up as a proud auntie on her niece's 15th birthday. Read full review
70
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
The whole thing comes together surprisingly well, as a celebration of its own milieu, and of a tender teen's transformation into a strong young woman.
70
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
Despite some awkwardness, this feature by writer-directors Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland is a fascinating look at the area's Mexican-American milieu and other local subcultures, full of feeling, insight, and touching performances. Read full review
70
Washington PostStephen Hunter
It's not fierce, it's not angry, it's not radical, it's polite and what might be called "life-affirming." But it does have a couple of attributes most movies don't. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterJames Greenberg
Life-affirming without being saccharine and enormously entertaining, film could be one of those rare specialty pictures that crossover to a mainstream audience. Read full review
70
VarietyDavid Rooney
This is a fresh, spirited drama, charming and unpretentious. It mines a similar vein to recent Latino-themed pics such as "Raising Victor Vargas" and "Real Women Have Curves." Read full review
70
Village VoiceElla Taylor
Saucy, rowdy, heartfelt, and terribly sweet movie. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesKevin Thomas
As sweet and gentle as it is, Quinceañera is quite clear-eyed about human cruelty and indifference. In structure, however, there is a circularity to the film that allows it to end on a well-earned upbeat note. Read full review
70
SalonAndrew O'Hehir
It's an engaging, sweet-yet-sad neighborhood slice of life, anchored by pretty cinematography and a couple of nice performances. Read full review
63
New York PostV.A. Musetto
Quinceañera isn't a work of art, nor does it want to be. But it is a crowd-pleaser. Read full review
63
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
A natural crowd-pleaser, this year's big Sundance award winner is both overly familiar and surprisingly fresh. Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
It's all such a throwback, and yet there's something rather sweet about the way this pot boils. Read full review
60
New York Magazine (Vulture)David Edelstein
The movie does a good job of capturing how ostracism and liberation are sides of the same spinning coin. Read full review
60
EmpireKim Newman
Refreshingly free of the gangs, guns and drugs clichés associated with the milieu, this is a satisfying, spicy little picture. Read full review
50
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
Tthis isn't just any setup, is it: It's suds being sold as ethno-sensitive reality, a case of coveting thy neighbor's fiesta. Read full review
More From This Movie

72 Critic Reviews

7.7 User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 81 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
2 77 Project Hail Mary
3 75 Send Help
4 73 Hoppers
5 72 The Sheep Detectives
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL