The Brothers McMullen
Fox Searchlight Pictures | Release Date: August 18, 1995 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
73
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 20 Critic Reviews
Positive:
17
Mixed:
2
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
San Francisco ChroniclePeter Stack
Burns has created an endearing gathering of people we all know, and every one of them is so much fun that leaving the theater at the end elicits a touch of regret. Read full review
90
Washington PostDesson Thomson
One of the most enjoyable experiences of the year. Read full review
90
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
While other films struggle for their effects, Brothers simply lives and breathes, thoroughly likable from beginning to end. Read full review
90
VarietyTodd McCarthy
Good old-fashioned virtues of three-dimensional characters, fine dialogue, recognizable life situations and meat-and-potatoes content. Read full review
90
The New York TimesJanet Maslin
This modest, enormously likable film, about love and temptation and ties that bind, is about brotherhood most of all. [9 August 1995, p.C9] Read full review
89
Austin ChronicleAlison Macor
It is a rare treat of a film. Read full review
88
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
You don't have to be Catholic, or Irish, or even American, to "get it." Burns' language, despite originating on Long Island, is universal in appeal and meaning. Read full review
80
Rolling StonePeter Travers
The women's characters are as well drawn as the men's in a splendidly acted film that captures the confusion of love in ways that are ardent, affecting and wonderfully funny. Read full review
80
Film.comTom Keogh
A smart marriage of modest technical ambition, sophisticated material, and a hang-loose presentation that belies the production's no-frills sacrifices.
80
Film.comEd Brubaker
It's old-fashioned filmmaking, and more people should do it.
75
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
A clever, amiably low-key mix of family drama and romantic comedy.[18 August 1995, Friday, p.C]
75
USA TodayMike Clark
This meaty Irish stew isn't arty or elliptical. It ought to connect with anyone who's survived sibling tension or romantic fence-sitting. [9 August 1995, Life, p.5D]
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
The movie brings into focus how rare religion and spirituality are in American films. Read full review
70
Washington PostRita Kempley
This knowing, low-budget comedy will appeal to men, who'll recognize their behavior, but also to women, who'll see it as goosing the gander. Read full review
70
Film.comJohn Hartl
It's not a profound film, but it is heartfelt, and Burns has done his best to keep it clear and emotionally direct.
67
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
The romantic troubles of three Irish-Catholic brothers on Long Island don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world. Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
Respectable by the tube's standards, even a cut above dumbed-down Hollywood, but hardly the stuff of creative renewal. Read full review
60
TV Guide MagazineStaff (not credited)
Solid, old-fashioned narrative moviemaking with just enough no-budget cachet to disguise its essential blandness. Read full review
60
Mr. ShowbizAnne Harris
This is, recognizably, an indie film, in the best sense of the term.
10
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
If you want to waste a couple of hours, you can surely do much better looking elsewhere. Read full review
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