70
Metascore
26 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 75Entertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumEntertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumA Lebanese variation on sweetly soapy dramas about Women Who Bond With Wet Hair.
- 75The A.V. ClubNathan RabinThe A.V. ClubNathan RabinAt its best, Caramel boasts a quietly engaging slice-of-slice casualness.
- 75USA TodayClaudia PuigUSA TodayClaudia PuigCaramel is a sweeter and more believable version of "Steel Magnolias," Middle Eastern style.
- 70The Hollywood ReporterThe Hollywood ReporterWarm-hearted and accessible, it could benefit from good word of mouth in a limited art house run, particularly among audiences who like their rom-coms laced with foreign ingredients.
- 70VarietyVarietyFresh from commercials and musicvids, novice helmer (and star) Nadine Labaki gathers five women around a Beirut beauty salon to address a range of issues facing Lebanese women -- from extramarital affairs to religious dictates. Low on calories and not especially original but always diverting.
- 70Village VoiceVillage VoiceBeauty-parlor romantic comedy has been done to death and beyond, but what Caramel lacks in originality is redeemed by its exuberant sensuality and astute commentary on the way Lebanese women sit uncomfortably in the crosshairs of their country’s clash between patriarchal tradition and Westernized modernity.
- 70SalonAndrew O'HehirSalonAndrew O'HehirIt's a reassuring and delicious film, but in no sense an adventurous one.
- 70Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternWall Street JournalJoe MorgensternAll but one of the actresses in Caramel are nonprofessionals -- not unprofessional, just untrained in the craft -- and they are, to a woman, enchanting. So is this Lebanese comedy.
- 63ReelViewsJames BerardinelliReelViewsJames BerardinelliIt's refreshing for a romantic comedy not to follow the formula by rote. I only wish I could be as enthusiastic about the amount of screen time accorded to certain characters who are more tedious than endearing.
- 50New York PostV.A. MusettoNew York PostV.A. MusettoCaramel, by the way, gets its name from a blend of sugar, lemon juice and water that is boiled until it turns into a paste used to remove unwanted hair in the Middle East.