Pieces of April: Critic Reviews

100%

MovieWeb: 0 reviews

84%

RottenTomatoes: 148 reviews

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Owen Gleiberman Entertainment Weekly (Top Critic)

42

The setup is appealingly small-scale, yet the film's tone is one of fake intimacy -- shtick parading as quirky truth.
Full Review » 9 years ago
Elvis Mitchell New York Times (Top Critic)

80

[An] intelligent and touching farce.
Full Review » 9 years ago
Desson Thomson Washington Post (Top Critic)

This film explores what low-budget films do best: the quirkiness of character, and slightly off-kilter comedy.
Full Review » 9 years ago
Ann Hornaday Washington Post (Top Critic)

Pieces of April belongs, wholly and completely, to Clarkson, who delivers Joy's mordant asides and withering observations with a flawless balance of tartness and vulnerability.
Full Review » 9 years ago
Ty Burr Boston Globe (Top Critic)

50

A shell game that replaces the comedy of observation it sets out to be with glib one-liners, shallow characterizations, and a sweet but naive vision of racial harmony.
Full Review » 9 years ago
Dennis Lim Village Voice (Top Critic)

A gluttonous buffet of Sundance cliches, with an acid-reflux aftertaste of condescension and unexamined racism.
Full Review » 9 years ago
Jami Bernard New York Daily News (Top Critic)

75

A delightful, funny surprise.
Full Review » 9 years ago
Bruce Westbrook Houston Chronicle (Top Critic)

84

The film grows on you, thanks to strong characters and the shrewd observational humor of writer-director Peter Hedges.
Full Review » 9 years ago
Chris Vognar Dallas Morning News (Top Critic)

67

Few films manage to be this light and hopeful without being drop-dead dumb.
Full Review » 9 years ago
Lisa Kennedy Denver Post (Top Critic)

75

Too rare pleasure: an honest and sentimental journey.
Full Review » 9 years ago
Peter Rainer New York Magazine (Top Critic)

Pieces of April is built around the tired premise of a dysfunctional family's Thanksgiving get-together, but -- surprise -- it's fresh.
Full Review » 8 years ago
Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times (Top Critic)

75

Despite its flaws, Pieces of April has a lot of joy and quirkiness; it's well-intentioned in its screwy way, with flashes of human insight, and actors who can take a moment and make it glow.
Full Review » 9 years ago
Michael Wilmington Chicago Tribune (Top Critic)

75

Clarkson alone makes April a feast.
Full Review » 9 years ago
Steven Rea Philadelphia Inquirer (Top Critic)

75

For a movie about community and forgiveness, family and grace, Pieces of April is refreshingly unsappy.
Full Review » 9 years ago
Jeff Strickler Minneapolis Star Tribune (Top Critic)

75

Seamless blend of over-the-top farce with sincere drama.
Full Review » 9 years ago
Tom Long Detroit News (Top Critic)

84

A near-perfect holiday film about families and imperfection.
Full Review » 9 years ago
Bill Muller Arizona Republic (Top Critic)

60

It looks like what it is: a movie shot quickly, with digital cameras and on the cheap, but with enough talent on screen to keep the audience engaged.
Full Review » 9 years ago
Andrew Sarris New York Observer (Top Critic)

Longer on calculating sourness than on psychologically organic wit.
Full Review » 8 years ago
David Rooney Variety (Top Critic)

A Thanksgiving family reunion comedy that sparkles with acerbic wit, original characters and genuine heart.
Full Review » 9 years ago
Megan Lehmann New York Post (Top Critic)

75

Hedges has crafted a warmhearted holiday film that stands as a small classic in its bittersweet illustration of the unbreakable bond of family.
Full Review » 9 years ago
Roger Moore Orlando Sentinel (Top Critic)

100

A charmer of mild surprises, heartfelt laughs and genuine humanity.
Full Review » 9 years ago
Geoff Pevere Toronto Star (Top Critic)

60

It's in the cross-cutting between April's disaster-prone preparations and her family's turbulent journey that Hedges's movie finds its lively and likeable rhythm.
Full Review » 9 years ago
Stephen Cole Globe and Mail (Top Critic)

88

The film more than earns its heartwarming finale by virtue of the skilled performances of the leads.
Full Review » 9 years ago
Stephanie Zacharek Salon.com (Top Critic)

Hedges peppers it with enough wonderful moments that you can't help warming up to it.
Full Review » 9 years ago
James Berardinelli ReelViews (Top Critic)

75

The ending of Pieces of April is conventional, but satisfying, and there's enough delightful weirdness up to the final moments that it's hard to fault Hedges for taking the easy way out.
Full Review » 9 years ago