The Half of It Reviews
The Half of It brilliantly capitalizes on the everlasting appeal of an easy-to-swallow romcom by disrupting the very same tropes it inevitably clings to, resulting in a film that feels comfortably familiar but still entirely fresh.
| Oct 3, 2022
That rare film in which words marry technology. It puts the text back in texting.
| Jul 20, 2022
Funny and charming and lovely and real.
| Sep 10, 2021
Narratively this doesn't reinvent the wheel with this umpteenth retelling of the Cyrano de Bergerac story, but this is also absolutely one of the strongest teen movies released in recent years.
| Original Score: 4/5 | Sep 1, 2021
The update gains substance when attraction comes from the duo's shared fascination with arts, culture, and expression. These new dynamics work cleverly, making for bright and insightful entertainment.
| Jul 19, 2021
The Half of It clips along beautifully, giving you all the sweet charm of your favorite rom-coms while also giving you some thoughtful meditation on what love is.
| Feb 21, 2021
The Half Of It is a likeable if not especially memorable entry into the teen romantic-comedy genre - but it gains most of its merit through its sensitive depiction of outsiderdom and self-acceptance.
| Original Score: 3/5 | Feb 20, 2021
The idea of a teenage version of Cyrano de Bergerac seems to lend itself to pure romantic fluff, but Wu imbues it with incredible depth and consideration.
| Feb 20, 2021
Netflix has slowly built up a nice library of coming of age rom-coms. The Half of It is mostly in the middle-tier of those, but Ellie is the kind of protagonist we don't see often enough.
| Feb 20, 2021
It's a wistful charmer.
| Feb 20, 2021
The Half of It has a lot going on, but it manages to keep all of it flowing in a coherent and fun manner. With a fantastic concept, it features more than a few surprises along the way, easily elevating it way above your typical high school movie.
| Feb 17, 2021
[It's] a fairly down-to-earth portrayal of high school, from the fashion to the clever inclusion of social media which defines the modern-day teenage experience.
| Original Score: 7/10 | Feb 1, 2021
The Half of It might feel tame in comparison, but it is just as genuine.
| Dec 30, 2020
This story has been done many times, yet it feels fresh and new in Wu's version, which is about a whole lot of things besides unrequited love.
| Original Score: 7/10 | Dec 18, 2020
Whether you were the jock, the nerd, or the popular kid, there's something in this movie that just might make you feel pretty darn seen.
| Sep 8, 2020
An honest story which contains a lot of topics beyond romance. It speaks of self-love, of growing up, accepting oneself, friendship and more. [Full Review in Spanish]
| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Aug 3, 2020
The Half of It is a much-needed, witty boost to the genre of romantic comedies, which have been struggling for years with mediocre and uninspired stories.
| Jul 18, 2020
An intelligent and intimate movie that captures the feelings of longing for the first love. [Full review in Spanish]
| Jul 10, 2020
The Half of It, new today, seems like something of a remedy to that - an undeniably but not tokenistically progressive affair from writer-director Alice Wu about a queer love triangle in the small, simple town of Squahamish.
| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Jun 26, 2020
A warm hearted, funny and really well-crafted movie about two girls, one boy, love letters and the art of romantic texting.
| Original Score: 4/5 | Jun 12, 2020