The Trip to Bountiful
  • Network: Lifetime
  • Series Premiere Date: Mar 8, 2014
Metascore
86

Universal acclaim - based on 12 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 12
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 12
  3. Negative: 0 out of 12

Critic Reviews

  1. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Mary McNamara
    Mar 10, 2014
    100
    It's an exquisitely rendered and masterfully acted film on Lifetime.... Underwood and Williams are eloquent and fine, but this is Carrie's story. With her shining ageless eyes and effortless physical grace, Tyson is quietly but relentlessly hypnotic in all she does.
  2. People Weekly
    Reviewed by: Tom Gliatto
    Mar 4, 2014
    100
    Tyson elevates this character into a prism through which passes the span of existence.... You will be sighing for days. [10 Mar 2014, p.48]
    All this critic's reviews
  3. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Jason Clark
    Mar 4, 2014
    91
    Horton Foote's 1953 teleplay proves as durable as ever in this transfer of 2013's hit Broadway revival. Cicely Tyson is as fiercely magnetic on a small screen. [7 Mar 2014, p.62]
  5. Sioux City Journal
    Reviewed by: Bruce Miller
    Mar 7, 2014
    90
    Tyson's so perfectly cast, perfectly directed and perfected nuanced, Bountiful overflows with the kind of goodness we rarely find in TV movies.
  6. Cleveland Plain Dealer
    Reviewed by: Mark Dawidziak
    Mar 4, 2014
    90
    It's a sentimental journey, to be sure, but it never gives in to sentimentality. And while Tyson leads the way on this trip of a Lifetime, she is surrounded by co-stars adding illumination at every turn.
  7. San Jose Mercury News/Contra Costa Times
    Reviewed by: Chuck Barney
    Mar 4, 2014
    88
    It all adds up to a trip that's well worth taking.
  8. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Allison Keene
    Mar 7, 2014
    80
    The Trip to Bountiful hits all the right sweet and nostalgic notes without becoming saccharine or overdone.
  9. TV Guide Magazine
    Reviewed by: Matt Roush
    Mar 7, 2014
    80
    As fables go, Bountiful is fairly uneventful yet unexpectedly affecting, thanks to Tyson's unsparing honesty.
  10. Variety
    Reviewed by: Brian Lowry
    Mar 6, 2014
    80
    It’s a showcase for Tyson.
  11. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: David Hinckley
    Mar 5, 2014
    80
    All the actors nail their parts, but Tyson runs the show.
  12. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Sara Stewart
    Mar 7, 2014
    75
    It’s not the world’s most artful film, but it successfully brings the spirit of the play to the screen, enabling a much wider audience to enjoy the substantial charms of seeing Tyson in such a thoughtful part.
  13. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Molly Eichel
    Mar 6, 2014
    75
    It’s focused on Mrs. Watts’ personal journey home, her escape from the small bubble she’s come to know. As it is, it’s wonderful to watch Tyson make that escape.