The Perfect Family 2011

James Rocchi, MSN Movies: Hardly perfect, but definitely trying to be good. Read more

Stephen Holden, New York Times: [Turner's] performance is the deepest and truest element in this shallow feel-good movie about the clash between gay rights and Catholic orthodoxy in a generic suburban town... Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: A moving story of a woman's attempt to keep pace in a world that's moving too quickly for her. Read more

Alison Willmore, AV Club: Turner's interactions with Deschanel are so much weightier than the rest of the film that the other storylines seem extraneous. Read more

Barbara VanDenburgh, Arizona Republic: It would be ripe territory for self-reflection if this sloppy debut from filmmaker Anne Renton weren't plagued with as much self-doubt and uncertainty as its lead Catholic. Read more

Jake Weinraub, TheWrap: Turner's complex and heart-wrenching performance provides a window into the life of a woman dedicated to the values and commitments her church dictates, even during her family's darkest times. Read more

Frank Scheck, Hollywood Reporter: It's hard not to wish that it had taken a few more chances and explored its certainly relevant themes a little more deeply. Read more

Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: The film's single saving grace is Turner, who channels that legendary Catholic guilt like there is no tomorrow. Read more

Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: A leaden, ham-fisted affair that was exactly the sort of pap John Waters was spoofing when he cast Turner as a serial-killing soccer mom. Read more

Ian Buckwalter, NPR: The film's gentle, sentimental approach prevents it from ever really getting at the pain that's been swirling around this imperfect family for years. Read more

Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: We need more of Turner onscreen, so I hesitate to criticize when she finally appears. But the truth is that she's sadly underutilized in Renton's debut. Read more

Lou Lumenick, New York Post: "The Perfect Family'' is Kathleen Turner's show. And when a series of crises forces Eileen to re-examine her values and beliefs, Turner rises magnificently to the occasion. Read more

Rex Reed, New York Observer: In the final scene I found myself laughing and crying at the same time. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: At the most fundamental level, as a work of entertainment, it fails. Scenes meander pointlessly, beginning and ending without any change or story movement. Read more

Sam Adams, Time Out: Turner seems stifled by the joyless role of a woman whose only purpose is to be taught the error of her sanctimonious ways. Read more

Ronnie Scheib, Variety: A dynamite Kathleen Turner desperately strives to be named "Catholic Woman of the Year" in tyro helmer Anne Renton's feel-good religious laffer The Perfect Family. Read more

Ernest Hardy, Village Voice: Renton's competing tones and intentions result in a film at odds with itself and its lead performance. Read more