The Half of It
Netflix | Release Date (Streaming): May 1, 2020 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
74
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 23 Critic Reviews
Positive:
21
Mixed:
2
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriMay 1, 2020
In most good rom-coms you fall in love with the characters; in The Half of It you fall in love with their sheer longing. Read full review
90
The New York TimesKyle TurnerMay 1, 2020
With tenderness, humor and beauty, The Half of It comprehends the chasm between wanting and being. Read full review
88
Washington PostAnn HornadayApr 29, 2020
Written and directed with tart intelligence by Alice Wu, and featuring some dazzling breakout performances, this breezy, self-aware and utterly adorable coming-of-age tale keeps one eye on literary and cinematic classics, and the other firmly on a future full of exploration, self-expression and buoyant expectation. Read full review
86
PolygonKaren HanMay 19, 2020
With The Half of It, Wu has crafted a love story that tackles love in all senses, not just romantic, prioritizing not just who gets to kiss who, but what each character hopes and dreams for. They’re so well-realized that watching The Half of It feels like the beginning of a new relationship. It’s exciting, enticing, and filled with hope for what comes next — in this case, seeing what else Wu has up her directorial sleeve. Read full review
80
SlashfilmHoai-Tran BuiMay 1, 2020
The film toys with a lot of weighty ideas about faith and soulmates, which it never is quite able to form a coherent message about, but its unexpected ode to platonic soulmates and its thoughtful depiction of immigrant life in smalltown America is a sweet, refreshing addition to the coming-of-age genre. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterInkoo KangMay 1, 2020
The cast is uniformly impressive in their naturalism, but Lewis, Diemir and Lemire — who have the luxury of actually looking like teenagers — are especially so for their young age. Read full review
80
TimeStephanie ZacharekApr 30, 2020
It’s sweet and funny, but also, in places, as raw as a scraped knee. Read full review
80
Rolling StonePeter TraversApr 30, 2020
Despite its fluid sexuality, The Half of It turns out to be less of a love story than a funny, touching and vital look into the nature of friendship. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesKevin CrustApr 30, 2020
Wu is confident enough to make the bold strokes her characters speak of and craft a movie that’s comfortably different. Read full review
78
TheWrapSteve PondMay 1, 2020
It’s a charming, light comedy that goes down easy and is distinguished mostly by how it takes the Cyrano story to high school and mixes in emojis, diversity, immigration, LGBT issues and lots of other stuff to set it in today’s world. Read full review
75
Original-CinLiam LaceyMay 3, 2020
At its best moments, it provides a warm contemporary take on intergender friendships and almost lives up to its philosophical pretensions. Read full review
75
Movie NationRoger MooreMay 1, 2020
Touching and funny, awkward and wistful, it’s also evidence of a Hollywood crime. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyMaureen Lee LenkerMay 1, 2020
If The Half of It lacks the pizzazz and energy of similar Netflix fare, and doesn't have much to say beyond its initial setup, it at least takes a stab at doing something different. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comChristy LemireMay 1, 2020
The pieces may seem familiar in The Half of It, but the way Alice Wu assembles them results in a fresh and inspired whole. Read full review
75
IndieWireJude DryApr 30, 2020
The Half of It has lofty aims for its version of the classic tale — which it mostly achieves, albeit without much fanfare. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleNicole ClarkApr 29, 2020
It’s refreshing to see a film that not only spotlights a queer Asian American woman but also treats her with such respect and tenderness. Read full review
70
Screen RantMolly FreemanApr 30, 2020
The Half of It puts a queer YA spin on a classic romance story, but Wu makes it her own - delivering a charming, sweet and altogether heartfelt movie. Read full review
70
VarietyPeter DebrugeApr 29, 2020
It’s also made fresh by the myriad literary and cinematic references Wu weaves into Aster’s correspondence with “Paul.” With its slightly nerdy, play-on-wordy title, The Half of It alludes to the ancient Greek belief that two-faced humans were separated by the gods, devoting their lives to finding their lost soulmates (if you like the idea, read Plato’s “Symposium,” or check out “Hedwig and the Angry Inch”). Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubCaroline SiedeApr 29, 2020
Although The Half Of It mostly sticks to what’s swiftly becoming the Netflix teen rom-com house style (moody amber lighting, Wes Anderson-inspired framing, and nostalgia for John Hughes’ oeuvre), Wu creates several compellingly original images as well. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeTy BurrApr 30, 2020
The lead performers put it over, with Lewis very appealing as Ellie. She plays this small, fierce character as comfortable in her social invisibility yet increasingly exasperated by the insularity and ethnic slurs of her small town. Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Barry HertzApr 29, 2020
The film is also weighed down with a hokey record-scratch moment, a triumphant big-game sequence and a church-set finale that seems to be aping "The Graduate" but doesn’t quite have the courage to fully embrace the comedy of the moment. Read full review
60
The GuardianBenjamin LeeApr 30, 2020
The Half of It is a strong, warm-hearted and quietly progressive addition to the expanding Netflix teen movie pack which treats its target audience with the respect they deserve. Read full review
50
VoxEmily VanDerWerffMay 3, 2020
There are some really terrific moments there — particularly where the movie leaves its central relationships — but they all hinge on a series of actions that the characters seem to undertake simply because the movie is almost over. It’s too bad. There’s a great movie inside of The Half of It, and Wu is a tremendous talent who shouldn’t have to wait 15 years to make another feature film. Read full review
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