52
Metascore
12 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 80Los Angeles TimesSheila BensonLos Angeles TimesSheila BensonAll and all, it adds up to a delightful, unpretentious movie, hands down the richest work Whoopi Goldberg has done on the screen.
- 75The Associated PressThe Associated PressClara's Heart is a warm movie with many lessons to tell, if one is willing to listen. Its force is aided by Goldberg's performance and a noteworthy movie debut of Neil Patrick Harris as David. [17 Oct 1988]
- 67Christian Science MonitorDavid SterrittChristian Science MonitorDavid SterrittWhoopi Goldberg has a lot of heart; Neil Patrick Harris gives a sensitive performance as her young friend; and the supporting cast is solid. The screenplay is gushy, though, and director Robert Mulligan rarely tones it down. [14 Oct 1988, p.21]
- 63Washington PostRita KempleyWashington PostRita KempleyClara's Heart has several pluses. There's the rapport between Goldberg and Harris, impressive in his screen debut. And it is a relief to see Goldberg working back into The Color Purple mode.
- 60The New York TimesJanet MaslinThe New York TimesJanet MaslinDirected by Robert Mulligan in an unapologetically sentimental style, Clara's Heart succeeds in tugging the heartstrings only when Clara herself is on screen.
- 50Time OutTime OutMulligan's adaptation of Joseph Olshan's novel doesn't merely flirt with pathos, it positively marries it.
- 50Miami HeraldBill CosfordMiami HeraldBill CosfordWhoopi Goldberg gives a first-rate performance in Clara's Heart, enough to atone for the sins of her Fatal Beauty period. But it's nifty work in a lost cause. The movie is sickly sweet, shot through with the kind of confectioner's sentiment that Hollywood used to crank out on assembly lines until the formula slid into disuse. [21 Oct 1988, p.E10]
- 38Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertHere is a bad movie into which a great character seems to have dropped from another dimension.
- 38Chicago TribuneJohanna SteinmetzChicago TribuneJohanna SteinmetzAs directed by Robert Mulligan, the stately pace here feels sluggish and the music is no elegiac Pachelbel's "Canon" but a medley of dreadful cocktail lounge piano and swooning strings. [21 Oct 1988, p.G]