Playing both Annie and Hallie James paved the way for other fun roles in reboots for Lohan — «Freaky Friday» and «Herbie: Fully Loaded» — followed by a slew of compelling performances in «A Prairie Home Companion,» «Bobby,» and, of course, «Mean Girls.» (backstage.com)
Although the film carefully dodges some YA bildungsroman cliches and is bolstered by such compelling performances from its leads, I couldn't help but feel that the story that's left is somewhat underwhelming. (metacritic.com)
Though Gosling delivers as compelling a performance as one might've expected, the film - saddled with an extraordinarily one - note premise - never quite makes it up to his level; screenwriter Nancy Oliver has infused the proceedings with a number of overtly comedic elements, a choice that ultimately feels at odds with Gosling's distinctly down - to - earth take on his character. (reelfilm.com)