So-so
Avg. Critic Score: 59 out of 100 Mixed or average reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
16 OK for kids 16+
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 100
    San Francisco Chronicle |

    This film has a voice of its own. And at a time when the romantic comedy seems to be a lost art form, that's saying something. Read full review

  • 91
    Entertainment Weekly | Owen Gleiberman

    I will say that it's been a while since a romantic comedy mustered this much charm by looking this much like life. Read full review

  • 88
    Philadelphia Inquirer | Carrie Rickey

    It's hard to know whether this is a function of the sympathetic screenplay or of Krieger's sympathetic direction - or both - but Celeste and Jesse are endearing even when they do unsympathetic things. Read full review

  • 75
    Rolling Stone | Peter Travers

    What really lifts Celeste and Jesse Forever above the rom-com herd, besides breakout star performances from Jones and Samberg, is the movie's willingness to replace clichés with painful truths. It's irresistible. Read full review

  • 75
    USA Today | Claudia Puig

    Unlike most rom-coms, Celeste and Jesse Forever delves into the complicated heart of relationships, exposes some painful truths and allows melancholy to co-exist alongside breezy humor. Read full review

  • 70
    NPR |

    It's a highly imperfect movie - many of the gags are strained, a bit too pleased with their own finger-on-the-pulse zinginess - but it still represents a breakthrough of sorts, a way of looking at marriage that resists portraying a "failed" marriage as a failure. Read full review

  • 70
    The Hollywood Reporter | John DeFore

    Jones is great in the part, even if this movie doesn't quite prove she should be carrying films on her own, and the actress makes her character's clumsy heartache feel like more than a plot point. Read full review

  • 63
    Boston Globe | Ty Burr

    The movie is sardonic, hip, heartfelt, surprisingly white, and for all its ensemble pleasures, it's squarely about a furiously prim young woman and how she learns to bend. Read full review

  • 40
    Wall Street Journal | Joe Morgenstern

    The more these two likable people rattled on, the more I found myself thinking about the elusive distinction between characters talking genuinely smart talk and simply chattering for the camera. Read full review

  • 40
    New York Daily News | Elizabeth Weitzman

    Jones co-wrote the uneven script with Will McCormack, and one can't help wishing she'd aimed higher. Acknowledging cineplex clichés isn't enough if you still wind up embracing, rather than subverting, them. Read full review

View more reviews for Celeste and Jesse Forever on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says OK for kids 16+ Talky hipster romcom explores the "perfect" divorce.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that Celeste and Jesse Forever is an indie romcom that adds an interesting twist to the genre's typical formula but falls short of greatness, despite hip stars Rashida Jones and Andy Samberg. Older teens might find the concept refreshing, but the divorce/break-up-centric material could be a tad heavy (and the scenes talky) for younger teens and tweens. Expect plenty of swearing (particularly "f--k"), a scene of pot smoking (as well as additional references to drugs), some drinking, make-out scenes, lewd jokes, and implied sex and masturbation (though no outright nudity).
  • Families can talk about how Celeste and Jesse Forever handles the theme of romance. Is it saying anything different than other romcoms? Does it rely on stereotypes?
  • Do you think Celeste and Jesse's situation is realistic? Is their "solution" manageable?
  • Parents, talk to your kids about your own values regarding sex and relationships.
The good stuff
  • message true1 Positive messages: It's the way a break-up is handled that separates the kind from the hurtful.
  • rolemodels true1 Positive role models: Celeste and Jesse mean well, and they really seem to care for each other deeply and want to do the right thing. But they're also messy and careless. And despite being seemingly progressive in the way it explores break-ups, the movie does trot out some tired tropes about heartbroken women.
What to watch for
  • violence false0 Violence: Not an issue
  • sex false3 Sexy stuff: A couple is shown kissing and then under the covers; it's implied that they slept together. A guy pleasures himself while he's kissing a woman, and she’s not pleased. A suggestive joke about lip balm has suggestive references to masturbation.
  • language false4 Language: Fairly frequent use of "f--k," plus "shite," stupid, "a--hole," and more.
  • consumerism false1 Consumerism: Apple logo visible on a computer. IKEA is mentioned.
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false3 Drinking, drugs and smoking: Characters smoke pot from a bong. References to getting high. Some social drinking at bars and while people are relaxing at home.
An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology. © Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.

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