70
Metascore
18 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- Funny and fascinating documentary that pulls off an amazing trick: Everyone will be able to relate to Patel’s struggle, despite the specifics of his case as a 21st-century Indian-American.
- 80Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranLos Angeles TimesKenneth TuranMeet The Patels is more than just a hoot. Its candor and empathy allow it to make keen points about love, marriage, family and the unexpected complications that American freedoms can bring to immigrant lives.
- 75Slant MagazineElise NakhnikianSlant MagazineElise NakhnikianIn this picaresque documentary, the lightly comic musings of a likeable, somewhat nerdy Indian-American actor go surprisingly deep.
- 75RogerEbert.comOdie HendersonRogerEbert.comOdie HendersonA charming, informative and funny documentary.
- 70Village VoiceAbbey BenderVillage VoiceAbbey BenderMeet the Patels is a good-natured documentary that plays like a romantic comedy.
- 70The Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckThe Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckMeet the Patels is home movie-style filmmaking at its most boisterously entertaining.
- 67Entertainment WeeklyKevin P. SullivanEntertainment WeeklyKevin P. SullivanIn its current form as a documentary, Meet the Patels is a charming and moderately enlightening examination of what happens when an American-raised man recovering from a bad breakup attempts to find a wife through the kind of arranged marriage that has kept his parents blissful for decades.
- 60The New York TimesAndy WebsterThe New York TimesAndy WebsterMeet the Patels is a tidy, easygoing documentary in which peripheral players prove more intriguing than its central focus.
- 58The A.V. ClubTasha RobinsonThe A.V. ClubTasha RobinsonMeet The Patels does offer a light, hearty overview of a subculture and a family, with plenty of disarming humor. And it perfectly captures the paradoxes of family relationships—the way affection, respect, resentment, and exasperation can all blur into each other inside a close-knit family.
- 50New York PostKyle SmithNew York PostKyle SmithOnly in the heartfelt closing minutes does the film cut any deeper than a tired episode of a sitcom about children of immigrants complaining about their hopelessly old-fashioned parents.