
Critic Reviews
53
Metascore
Mixed or Average
positive
4(29%)
mixed
9(64%)
negative
1(7%)
Showing 14 Critic Reviews
Feb 2, 2014
75
The film is a quiet, tender triumph that leaves you feeling as if you've been embraced without you feeling had.
Feb 4, 2014
70
Kazan holds together a decent coming-of-age script that's emotionally sincere if tonally unfocused.
Feb 7, 2014
63
You wish the material were more consistent for these two. Some moments are screechy, others aren't deeply emotional enough. The in-between moments in which LaMarque hits just the right note can be charming, though, and they promise better things to come.
Feb 4, 2014
60
LaMarque foregrounds her scenario’s awkwardness—it never quite feels like a comedy—and the pair of male suitors she brings in (Jake Johnson and Ron Livingston) are, refreshingly, as unfixed as her main character. But you still wish Kazan had more to work with.
Feb 6, 2014
60
This eerily unsettling indie takes a few pleasantly unexpected turns before winding up in a traditional place. But if you think it isn’t worth the time, you have another think coming.
Feb 13, 2014
58
Overall, The Pretty One suffers from excessive, unfocused quirk and a predictable sitcom resolution.
Feb 4, 2014
50
All in all, The Pretty One is too lightweight to justify such a disturbing act of reinvention.
Feb 5, 2014
50
The good twin/bad twin conceit in 2014 doesn’t have a shred of the original surprise, and Zoe Kazan doesn’t have the chops to carry it off anyway.
Feb 6, 2014
50
The Pretty One does find a handful of genuinely sweet moments in which Basel and Laurel bond on letting their respective freak flags fly. Like the film itself, Kazan is at her best when she’s not trying so hard to be cute.