Metacritic reviews

A film whose lightness of touch rides a wave of family conflict to perfectly balance smiles and tears.

A triumph -- Demme's finest work since "The Silence of the Lambs," and a movie that tingles with life.

It may be painful at times, but Rachel Getting Married sure is one heck of a party.

The life that swirls around Kym before, during and after her sister's densely populated, wonderfully detailed wedding seems to have been caught on the fly in all its sweetness, sadness and joy. (In its free-form style the film constitutes an elaborate homage to Robert Altman.)

Brimming with energy, elan and the unpredictability of his "Something Wild," Jonathan Demme's triumphant Rachel Getting Married may just lay the wedding film to rest, being such a hard act to follow.

Best and most unexpected of all, Rachel Getting Married dares to mix the bitter with the sweet. It understands that life-altering situations like weddings not only bring out the worst in human behavior but also the finest.

At times, the movie gets bogged down in minutia but the emotions evoked and captured are as honest and brutal as one is likely to find on film.

At its best in scenes featuring Hathaway's mercurial character. It's a triumphant and darkly nuanced role for her and a departure from the more lighthearted comedic performances she has given.

A middlebrow domestic drama beating its wings against an experimental frame.

A minor work, but so menaced by distress that the characters take every opportunity to dance the dark away.