The Meddler feels more like a sitcom than a feature film, with a mix of drama and comedy that wraps up neatly. But with tidiness comes charm and poignancy.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 2, 2016

Arriving under the radar, The Meddler is a surprise treat. Go see it with your mother.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jun 30, 2016

The film is bracing at first and then allows itself to slip into schmaltz.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jun 24, 2016

It's funny and warm and gives us Sarandon's great performance.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jun 13, 2016

There are reportedly autobiographical elements to this story and that makes sense; Marnie is such a well-observed character, so annoying and yet in her own way so wonderful that it does feel she was drawn from real-life experience.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | May 20, 2016

It is all very likeable, but maybe Scafaria was inhibited by the fact she found her inspiration in her own family, because blandness takes the edge off it.

| Original Score: 3/5 | May 18, 2016

Scafaria's sympathetic intentions fall to simplistic setups and easy resolutions. She offers the characters no significant traits beside their functions in the action; the movie coasts on the charm of the actors, whom the director coaxes to mug ...

| May 16, 2016

Roles like this are regrettably rare for actresses of a certain age, and Sarandon makes the very best of this opportunity.

| Original Score: 3/5 | May 12, 2016

Much like its main character, "The Meddler" exudes an irresistible charm.

| Original Score: 3/4 | May 12, 2016

You root for Marnie, even when it's clear why Lori struggles with her, and you hear her persistent voice in your head for a while afterward - reminding you, perhaps, to give your own mother a call.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | May 12, 2016

Sarandon sparkles in this lightweight comedy-drama.

| Original Score: 3/4 | May 11, 2016

Talent is squandered by writer/director Scafaria's penchant for shallow contrivance over emotional depth.

| Original Score: 2/4 | May 6, 2016

It's a sitcom-y, Sarandon-wrapped Mother's Day valentine.

| Original Score: 3/4 | May 6, 2016

With Sarandon in the title role, Scafaria has a winner: The actress tackles Marnie headlong, with heart and soul, trolling the fancy outdoor shopping mall for products to buy and for people to intercept and hang on to.

| May 6, 2016

"The Meddler" is a disappointment after the talent Scafaria demonstrated in her 2012 feature debut "Seeking a Friend for the End of the World."

| Original Score: 2/4 | May 5, 2016

This is a sunny little gem of a film.

| Original Score: 4/5 | May 5, 2016

Writer/director Lorene Scafaria has a rare gift for finding the space in between joy and grief, and a rare understanding of the power of small moments to tell a big story.

| Original Score: B+ | May 1, 2016

What seems cringe-worthy at first in The Meddler winds up as a warm, forgiving embrace -- of the movie's characters and audience, as well.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Apr 29, 2016

Taken as a whole, Sarandon's performance is something to behold.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Apr 29, 2016

In many respects this plays like a senior-citizen romance with Diane Keaton, but it goes down much more easily, thanks to the players' sincerity and the credible, unassuming dialogue.

| Apr 28, 2016