Something New
Focus Features | Release Date: February 3, 2006 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
64
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 28 Critic Reviews
Positive:
16
Mixed:
11
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
VarietyBrian Lowry
Wispy at best, this romantic comedy from a first-time director and screenwriter feels as if whole chunks have been left on the cutting-room floor, with what remains mustering intermittent charm thanks to the attractiveness, if not chemistry, of Sanaa Lathan and Simon Baker. Read full review
60
Los Angeles TimesKevin Crust
The movie nicely captures the area around Baldwin Hills, is crisply written by Kriss Turner and portrays the upper-middle class black community seldom seen in mainstream TV and film. However, the characterizations, even the leads, rarely rise above archetypes. Read full review
60
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
This pleasant romantic comedy is essentially "Far From Heaven" with the races reversed. Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubNathan Rabin
Something New sets out to dramatize just how little society's attitudes toward interracial relationships have changed over the past few decades, but instead ends up documenting just how little the interracial-romance message movie has evolved since the clumsy days of "Guess Who's Coming To Dinner." Read full review
58
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
A shaky piece of work, with stumpy cinematography, choppy edits, speechy dialogue, and loose plotlines. And yet: There's an easygoing authenticity to the depiction of Kenya and her world that coexists with the picture's many weaknesses. Read full review
58
Seattle Post-IntelligencerSean Axmaker
The warmth of Baker as the cuddly nature boy (another idealized image, certainly, but a romantic one) and the intelligence and fire of Lathan give the lesson, and movie, just enough heart to make it enjoyable. Read full review
50
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
The stars have chemistry, which may be all that we can hope for in factory-line fluff. But why stack the deck so clumsily? Read full review
50
Dallas ObserverLuke Y. Thompson
Like most films of its type, Something New is not tough to sit through, but the thought of paying full price to see it isn't especially desirable. Read full review
50
Film ThreatPete Vonder Haar
It'll appeal to that segment of the population that goes to movies like this on Valentine's Day, but other than that, Something New feels pretty worn. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleRuthe Stein
Each time Something New touches on something controversial, it quickly retreats to some silliness. Read full review
40
L.A. WeeklyTim Grierson
Something New never feels remotely like the world we live in - it's a fabrication of a gauzy romantic-comedy movieland where people of all colors can be equally trite and dull. Read full review
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