37
Metascore
12 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 70The Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckThe Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckThe film is emotionally manipulative, to be sure, but it's ultimately hard to resist, especially given the quality of the lead performances.
- 50Los Angeles TimesMichael RechtshaffenLos Angeles TimesMichael RechtshaffenSomehow Murphy manages to lift his dignified, all-knowing servant character off the page, giving a meticulously composed performance in a vehicle that can’t help but feel superficially repackaged.
- 50The Seattle TimesSoren AndersenThe Seattle TimesSoren AndersenGet out your handkerchiefs, but don’t expect to believe a minute of this vastly improbable tale.
- 50Washington PostMark JenkinsWashington PostMark JenkinsMurphy is fine as the title character, although his performance consists mostly of suppressing all of his usual shtick. He certainly doesn’t endow Mr. Church with any unexpected depths. But then neither does the script.
- 42The PlaylistKimber MyersThe PlaylistKimber MyersIt flails for the heartstrings, but instead of reaching them, it only tugs at that muscle that makes you roll your eyes at its old-fashioned, melodramatic attempts at emotion.
- It’s the film’s racial politics, particularly its stereotypical evocation of willing servitude by an African-American, and its characters’ refusal to acknowledge this imbalance of power, which make it not so much old-fashioned as downright retrograde – and likely to go down even worse with black audiences than Driving Miss Daisy.
- 33The A.V. ClubJesse HassengerThe A.V. ClubJesse HassengerA small, unflashy, borderline incompetent movie like Mr. Church is certainly another sign that Murphy does what he wants. Maybe this guarded performance in a lousy movie is a sign of him wanting to do something better.
- 25Slant MagazineKenji FujishimaSlant MagazineKenji FujishimaBruce Beresford's film is remarkable for how it manages to indulge so many offensive and shopworn clichés at once.
- 20VarietyNick SchagerVarietyNick SchagerA crude sugary-sweet fantasy.