Something New: Critic Reviews

[The film] is a shaky piece of work, with stumpy cinematography, choppy edits, speechy dialogue, and loose plotlines. And yet: There's an easygoing authenticity to the depiction of Kenya and her world.

In this pleasantly diverting romance about a black woman and a white man forced to transcend prejudice, the chemistry between the leads is as unmistakable as the setup is contrived.

There's zero chemistry between the leads; for all their passionate declarations of love, you never believe they've even spoken to each other before the cameras start turning over.

Sanaa Lathan's classiness flows from the poise she projects...Her cool understatement helps put over Something New's premise -- which, if not old, is no longer in its 20s.

The fun -- and the seriousness -- of the movie is in watching a beautiful, classy woman challenge an equally delectable opponent. It's one heck of a matchup.

This is an inept and unsubtle romantic fantasy about how black people and white people don't mix.

Sanaa Hamri's brisk, refreshingly understated romantic comedy Something New is the rare movie that delivers on its title's promise.

Hamri delivers a thoughtful, entertaining, imperfect but solidly adult movie about the inconvenient path of true love.

Something New is actually something totally unexpected: a blissfully swoony romance spiked with frank talk about race and class that nudges the plot forward but never feels forced.

If February is prime time for celebrating romance and black culture, then Something New delivers a powerfully seductive two-for-the-show.

Something New is an observant, clever riff on the familiar problems of romance and the career gal.

Something New delivers all the usual pleasures of a love story, and something more. The movie respects its subject and characters, and is more complex about race than we could possibly expect.

Happily for those of us who enjoy the genre but wouldn't mind more substance on the empty-calorie march toward bliss, Something New, the beguiling feature film debut from Sanaa Hamri, carries a little bit more weight than the average rom-com.

Not since Hitch have I checked judgment at the concession counter and happily succumbed to a movie's charms.

Something New is a message movie and it doesn't hide that fact. But it also goes beyond the message, and that's why it works.

The screenplay is smart, witty and understated, and director Sanaa Hamri shows a firm hand with her actors and injects the movie with a fresh energy that lives up to the title.

Look too closely and there will be questions about abandoned plot threads and excised scenes.

How many other movies dare to suggest that some white guys have soul, and some black guys are plain vanilla?

Something New isn't Something Hilarious. But it is sweet enough and provocative enough to make it Hollywood's best date movie this Valentine's Day.

Charming and surprisingly sharp.

The film is not riotous, but it is sporadically amusing, and the love affair is respectful of the characters, not fatuous.

... should please its targeted female demo in the market for a heart-shaped February confection with something more substantial than a mushy center

The film's lack of depth as it oversimplifies the complexities of racism keep it from being anything other than a lightweight date movie.

Mixing mirth with more sophisticated moments, this delightful romantic romp ultimately triumphs primarily because of the easy-going screen chemistry generated by Sanaa Lathan and Simon Baker.