That Awkward Moment
Focus Features | Release Date: January 31, 2014 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
36
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 33 Critic Reviews
Positive:
4
Mixed:
16
Negative:
13
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
Total FilmJames MottramJan 27, 2014
Gormican’s script is the film’s big strength; the dialogue fizzes while the set-pieces pay off handsomely. Read full review
70
Village VoiceAmy NicholsonFeb 1, 2014
While it's easy to tease first-time writer-director Tom Gormican's raunchy rom-com, the trio has a shaggy chemistry, and most of the jokes hit. Read full review
63
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliJan 30, 2014
It's the Judd Apatow syndrome and there are times when the blend of romance and raunchiness threatens to curdle. In the end, however, the "love conquers all" mentality wins out. Read full review
63
USA TodayClaudia PuigJan 29, 2014
While it has the requisite amounts of comedy and romance, it's actually more of a buddy movie. Think "Sex in the City," bro-style. Read full review
60
EmpireAnna SmithJan 28, 2014
It’s predictable and troubled by continuity errors, but as undemanding romantic comedies go, it’s a pleasant enough watch with a heartfelt script from debut writer-director Tom Gormican. Read full review
58
Entertainment WeeklyAdam MarkovitzFeb 3, 2014
Sit tight through the end credits and you'll be treated to a few off-the-cuff outtakes of the guys doing things much funnier than anything in the film itself. Read full review
58
Portland OregonianStephen WhittyJan 30, 2014
It has some good actors, and some quick dialogue, which also has the feel of real-life. But the plot forces things a bit, and the direction is uncertain; just when it seems willing to take some risks, it retreats. Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubKevin McFarlandJan 29, 2014
That Awkward Moment desperately wants to speak to a new generation of romantic-comedy devotees without proving it has the authority to do so. It’s not as laboriously dumb as the overloaded ensemble rom-coms of Garry Marshall ("Valentine’s Day," "New Year’s Eve") or the similarly star-studded "He’s Just Not That Into You." Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleFeb 6, 2014
The reversion to formula takes a pleasing comedy and drops it down a notch, but That Awkward Moment is still very easy to like. Read full review
50
RogerEbert.comSusan WloszczynaJan 31, 2014
At the very least, the makers of That Awkward Moment should get credit for savvy casting. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam LaceyJan 31, 2014
Like its characters, That Awkward Moment has commitment issues: It lacks the courage of its bad taste. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsJan 30, 2014
It's nice to see a movie in love with New York City, but That Awkward Moment sets such a low bar for Jason's redemption it becomes a drag. Read full review
50
McClatchy-Tribune News ServiceRoger MooreJan 30, 2014
It’s over familiar, a movie that plays like recycled, R-rated outtakes from “Rules of Engagement” or “How I Met Your Mother.” Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterSheri LindenJan 29, 2014
Even when Gormican’s material tries too hard to be wackily crude, and not hard enough to make dramatic sense, the actors suggest layers of experience that help to fill in the gaps. Read full review
43
Film.comKate ErblandJan 30, 2014
The most awkward thing about That Awkward Moment is that the majority of it just doesn’t make much sense and, as a relatively light-hearted spin on the romantic comedy genre, it absolutely should. Read full review
42
Tampa Bay TimesSteve PersallFeb 6, 2014
The three young stars biding time in Tom Gormican's listless rom-com are too gifted for one mediocre movie to bury. Read full review
40
Arizona RepublicRandy CordovaFeb 5, 2014
First-time writer-director Tom Gormican keeps the dialogue moving at a rapid pace, which doesn’t obscure the fact that most of what is said is dopey and witless. Read full review
40
Los Angeles TimesBetsy SharkeyJan 30, 2014
What makes this film particularly bedeviling is that you get the sense there is a nice guy behind this mess, one not so callous about matters of the heart. If anything, the raunch seems forced. The closer the film gets to real emotions, the more authentic it feels. Read full review
40
New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierJan 30, 2014
That Awkward Moment is eminently forgettable — but worth remembering as Poots’ moment. Read full review
40
The GuardianPeter BradshawJan 30, 2014
In the main, it's the usual story – much more rom than com. Read full review
38
Rolling StonePeter TraversJan 31, 2014
The compensation comes in the three lead actors, all way too good for the material dished out by writer-director Tom Gormican. Read full review
38
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperJan 30, 2014
That Awkward Moment strives to straddle the line between breezy, bromantic comedy and “Hangover”-esque guy humor. It fails miserably on both counts. Read full review
38
Slant MagazineR. Kurt OsenlundJan 29, 2014
Its obsession with male genitalia, or, more specifically, penis receptacles, is emblematic of its overall aura of male entitlement and its consideration of women as prizes to be lanced. Read full review
37
Washington PostAnn HornadayJan 30, 2014
The best thing about awkward moments, after all, is that they usually pass quickly. And, blessedly, just as swiftly forgotten. Read full review
30
Austin ChronicleKimberley JonesFeb 5, 2014
There’s probably a movie out there that can call a happy, anatomical truce between Viagra-hopped, horizontal-dick jokes and heart-on-the-sleeve love stuff, but this ain’t that. Read full review
30
The DissolveGenevieve KoskiJan 29, 2014
First-time writer-director Tom Gormican fills his script with jabs at romantic convention, but his story doesn’t attempt to subvert those conventions in any meaningful way. Read full review
30
VarietyScott FoundasJan 29, 2014
The pic falls well short of its efforts to combine the raucous vulgarity of the “Hangover” movies with Cameron Crowe-ish depth of feeling. Read full review
25
Boston GlobePeter KeoughJan 30, 2014
As for the dialogue, although the characters talk really fast, swear a lot, and overlap their lines, what they’re saying isn’t very funny or authentic. It’s as if David Mamet collaborated on writing an episode of “Two and a Half Men.” Read full review
25
The PlaylistKevin JagernauthJan 30, 2014
There is something of a manufactured air to the proceedings, one that is acutely aware of the techniques and traits of other similar better film, but without the strength in writing to back it up. Read full review
20
The TelegraphRobbie CollinFeb 6, 2014
Tom Gormican, the writer and director, mostly uses overlapping dialogue in place of actual jokes, although occasionally he stretches to toilet humour. Read full review
20
Time Out LondonCath ClarkeJan 28, 2014
The actors – who seem to have been involved in a hideous industrial accident that’s left them with the superpower of repelling all comic timing – are spectacularly unfunny. Read full review
12
New York PostKyle SmithJan 30, 2014
That Awkward Moment is a rom-com for dudes that seeks to outdo the ladies by being even more insipid, formulaic and contrived than anything Katherine Heigl has ever done. Read full review
10
The New York TimesStephen HoldenJan 30, 2014
A vile, witless sex comedy. Read full review
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