96
Metascore
15 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100TV Guide MagazineTV Guide MagazineThis may be the best romantic comedy ever made. The great Ernst Lubitsch handles his "small" theme brilliantly, bringing the lives of everyday people to the screen as he had never done before.
- 100Austin ChronicleKimberley JonesAustin ChronicleKimberley JonesThe real surprise is in how earnestly the director of some of the finest, spikiest romantic comedies ever made is willing to step off the gas and let heartfelt romance win the day. And it so very winning.
- 100Slant MagazineJaime N. ChristleySlant MagazineJaime N. ChristleyThe charm of the gimmick in Lubitsch’s take (directing a script by Samuel Raphaelson, who had collaborated with the German-born filmmaker on comedies and melodramas alike) is passed over quickly in favor of studying both its effects on those involved, as well as the dynamics of the workplace at large.
- 100Time OutTime OutFor my money, this is Lubitsch’s masterpiece, an immaculate conflation of his sprightly shooting style, expertly layered wisecracking and bracing realism, all topped off with a romantic subplot that offers a nakedly joyous celebration of young, serendipitous love.
- 90Chicago ReaderDave KehrChicago ReaderDave KehrInterwoven with subplots centered on the other members of the shop's little family, the romance proceeds through Lubitsch's brilliant deployment of point of view, allowing the audience to enter the perceptions of each individual character at exactly the right moment to develop maximum sympathy and suspense.
- 90Although picture carries the indelible stamp of Ernst Lubitsch at his best in generating humor and human interest from what might appear to be unimportant situations, it carries further to impress via the outstanding characterizations by Margaret Sullavan and James Stewart in the starring spots.
- 80The GuardianPeter BradshawThe GuardianPeter BradshawThis is a sharp, elegant, unsentimental picture in which Stewart plays a character who is often gloomy and downright unsympathetic.
- 80The New York TimesFrank S. NugentThe New York TimesFrank S. NugentA pretty kettle of bubbling brew it makes under Mr. Lubitsch's deft and tender management and with a genial company to play it gently, well this side of farce and well that side of utter seriousness.
- 80EmpireDavid ParkinsonEmpireDavid ParkinsonNostalgic and charming romance with special moments in the extra-narrative action.