Christian Science Monitor by Peter Rainer

Marvelously enjoyable.

ReelViews by James Berardinelli

It offers a feel-good experience, but without the heavy dose of schmaltz that often accompanies such a production.

Chicago Tribune by Michael Phillips

A dear film, sentimental and fond, full of beautifully acted British resolve.

New York Post by Lou Lumenick

Constantly battling, Hoskins and Dench have terrific chemistry together.

Baltimore Sun by Michael Sragow

A humorous bounty of flesh and fantasy.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer by William Arnold

It's funny, touching and crammed to the rafters with clever dialogue, splashy production numbers and stiff-upper-lip charm.

The Hollywood Reporter by Michael Rechtshaffen

An absolute delight from start to finish.

Salon by Stephanie Zacharek

This is a shimmery beaded curtain of a movie, a slight, charming picture that's almost all facade. But what a facade!

Los Angeles Times by Kenneth Turan

Just as there will always be an England, there will always be a certain kind of English film: the highly polished entertainment, well-acted, genteelly amusing and impeccably turned out. Mrs. Henderson Presents is the latest example of the trend and an especially satisfying one.

Wall Street Journal by Joe Morgenstern

One of the wittiest comedies to come our way in a very long time.

The A.V. Club by Scott Tobias

Poking fun at uptight British civility has long been a monocle-shattering comedic staple, and Mrs. Henderson Presents gets by for a while on its genial naughtiness.

Village Voice

This is Dame Judi's show. However extraordinary an actor she may be, she cannot conceal the obvious fact that she's having the time of her life here. Isn't that delicious?

Chicago Reader by Andrea Gronvall

Posh meets prole in this period drama elegantly directed by Stephen Frears (Dangerous Liaisons, Prick Up Your Ears).

The New York Times by Manohla Dargis

Watching this reasonably funny, professionally assembled calculation is a little like snuggling up in front of the television with a mug of hot cocoa and a warm blanket. Those who prefer their drinks and recreation spiked would do well to look elsewhere.

Variety by David Rooney

A bigscreen feature executed with a cookie-cutter small-screen sensibility, this often charming but untextured fact-based period piece is buoyed along by the redoubtable Judi Dench.

L.A. Weekly by Ella Taylor

Stephen Frears has had more downs than ups of late, but I would never have thought the man responsible for "My Beautiful Laundrette" and "The Grifters" capable of stooping to pap as pappy as this unbearably chipper take on the real-life story of Laura Henderson.

Entertainment Weekly by Owen Gleiberman

This makes for a friendly romp, and also a dull one.