83
Entertainment Weekly by Lisa Schwarzbaum
Cheery, expertly constructed Spanish farce.
Only Human (Seres queridos)
Critic Rating
(read reviews)User Rating
- Spain,
- Argentina,
- Portugal,
- United Kingdom
- 2004
- · 93m
Director
Dominic Harari
Cast
Norma Aleandro,
Guillermo Toledo,
Marián Aguilera,
Fernando Ramallo,
María Botto,
Alba Molinero
Genre
Drama,
Comedy,
Romance
Leni Dali, a successful television reporter, finally introduces her fiancé Rafi to her eccentric Jewish family. Filled with anxiety and concern, Rafi faces one obstacle after another as each family member presents a different hoop for Rafi to jump through, especially when they discover that he is Palestinian.
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What are critics saying?
80
The New Republic by Stanley Kauffmann
As directors, Harari and De Pelegri have just the right light-fingered glissando touch. Not a moment sags. Their cast relishes and fulfills the tempo.
80
Wall Street Journal by Joe Morgenstern
Winningly human, and wonderfully funny.
75
Boston Globe by Wesley Morris
A dinner-from-hell comedy about a pretty Jewish Spaniard who brings a nice Palestinian guy home to her outspoken Madrid family.
75
New York Daily News by Elizabeth Weitzman
The slapstick gets a little too silly, and a rushed ending feels unsatisfying. But everyone whose family boasts an excess of opinions will relate.
75
New York Post by V.A. Musetto
Moves along briskly, with several laugh-out-loud moments.
75
TV Guide Magazine by Maitland McDonagh
There's nothing subtle about Pelegri and Harari's culture-clash romp, but it's sometimes frantically funny; that it's thoroughly forgettable is an issue only if you expect it to do more than poke easy fun at the thorny issues it raises.
75
Chicago Tribune by Jessica Reaves
The film's snappy action and frank sexuality are reminiscent of "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown," while the mordant humor and conflicting identities are vintage Allen.
75
San Francisco Chronicle by Ruthe Stein
There's a manic quality to the film that may wear you down. But at least you won't be bored.
70
The New York Times
A vigorously paced modern screwball comedy written and directed by the husband-and-wife team Dominic Harari and Teresa De Pelegrí, explores family values, and Leni and Rafi's mismatched cultural backgrounds, with a refreshingly light touch.
70
Village Voice
Intermittently hilarious.
70
Salon by Andrew O'Hehir
A movie that is never elegant but is often hysterically funny, and maintains a rabbit-on-speed pace that Hollywood comedy long ago abandoned.
70
Village Voice by Jim Ridley
Intermittently hilarious.
60
Chicago Reader
Toledo is very funny, and there are some hilarious comic bits, but writer-directors Dominic Harari and Teresa Pelegri drag in several distracting subplots, turning this 2004 Spanish comedy into a scattershot affair.
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