Laws of Attraction

The New Yorker by Anthony Lane

You have to feel sorry for Moore, who is called upon to supply an unappealing mixture of neurosis and starch, and whose instinctive frailty is so endlessly exploited by Howitt's movie that the jokes, such as they are, go into retreat. [3 May 2004, p. 110]

ReelViews by James Berardinelli

Laws of Attraction is a standard-issue romantic comedy that's missing a key ingredient: the attraction.

The Hollywood Reporter by Kirk Honeycutt

For comedy, director Peter Howitt relies on halfhearted slapstick as the script contains little of the sharp dialogue one might expect from a script written at least in part by Harling ("Steel Magnolias," "Soapdish").

Village Voice by Laura Sinagra

Our counselors' lawyer-ese is illegally bland, and their committee-penned banter meticulously Botoxed.

Entertainment Weekly by Lisa Schwarzbaum

Operates on such outdated, unimaginative conventions of movie chemistry that Moore and Brosnan end up appearing older and stodgier than necessary.

Chicago Tribune by Michael Wilmington

It's a middling film that wastes a lot of good opportunities, as well as two fine, charming co-stars.

The A.V. Club by Nathan Rabin

Moore works to feign vitality where none exists, but that just makes it even more embarrassing to watch her writhe around fruitlessly in the most thankless and ill-fitting of roles.

New York Magazine (Vulture) by Peter Rainer

It’s tough to be Tracy and Hepburn, let alone Doris Day and Rock Hudson, when you're trying to get your mouth around lines that wouldn't pass muster on a UPN sitcom.

Dallas Observer by Robert Wilonsky

Nothing about Laws of Attraction is remotely original; even its title has the dull ring of the generic, like "Opposites Attract" or "He Said, She Said." See it or don't. You will never notice the difference.

Variety by Scott Foundas

While slight comic concoction is so airy it seems in danger of floating right off the screen, the pleasant retro vibe and a handful of effervescent moments carry this film no self-respecting heterosexual male would dare see except on a date.