You May Kiss Off Bride Wars

Jason Segel, Emily Blunt star in truthful romantic comedy

(NEWSER) - The Five-Year Engagement clocks in at over two hours, which is a bit too long for many critics. But its honesty about relationships makes the Jason Segel-Emily Blunt rom-com stand out from the pack.

• "Because it's so willing to drill down into Tom and Violet's misery, The Five-Year Engagement involves a higher grim-to-grin ratio than its fluffier brethren," writes Ann Hornaday in the Washington Post . "But there's an unmistakable ring of truth to the couple's conflicts and mixed feelings."

Subprime rom-com maxes out the clichés

(NEWSER) - Chick-lit flick Confessions of a Shopaholic is one victim the credit crisis should have claimed, say critics. Isla Fisher stars as a credit card addict who lands a job at a financial magazine, but her considerable comic gifts are wasted by a script that turns her into a "babbling ninny," Moira Macdonald writes in the Seattle Times. More»

Bland rom-com fails to rise above heap of clichés

(NEWSER) - Fish-out-of-water romantic comedy New In Town takes an old recipe and follows it to the letter, say critics. That's not a good thing. Renee Zellweger stars as a cynical Miami exec sent to cut jobs in an icy Minnesota hamlet full of warm-hearted folks, with results you can see coming "all the way from Duluth," John Anderson writes in Newsday. More»

Single after much-covered breakup with fraud, star faces new roles in life, on film

(NEWSER) - After a split with her jail-bound boyfriend, Anne Hathaway is trying on new outfits in both her personal and professional lives, she tells Sally Singer in Vogue. A London shopping trip may find the star a bit uncertain, but colleagues don’t mince words in praising her on-screen growth: She’s the “real deal,” the director of her current film, Bride Wars, says. More»

Love blossoms between indie fans in teen romance with savvy soundtrack

(NEWSER) - Teen romance Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist turned some critics starry-eyed and others into curmudgeons. Michael Cera and Kat Dennings star as a pair of indie-rock fans who have a crazy night in New York. The "often delightful love story that uses music as its primary backdrop" is reminiscent of John Hughes' teen flicks of the '80s, Josh Bell writes in Las Vegas Weekly. More»