The issues deepen in a subtle, natural way: the film begins as a trifle and ends as something beautiful and affirmative. A classic.
100
TV Guide Magazine
TV Guide Magazine
A superbly lighthearted production, and the epitome of 1930s screwball comedies.
100
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
One of the great screwball comedies. [23 Jan 1998, p.N]
88
Slant MagazineChuck Bowen
Slant MagazineChuck Bowen
The Awful Truth is a perfect farce, devoid of any fat, in which Lucy and Jerry’s fantasies and schemes topple after one another like figurative dominoes.
88
Charlotte Observer
Charlotte Observer
It's one of those films in which even the dog is funny. [14 Mar 2004, p.9E]
80
Time Out
Time Out
A routine story perhaps, but McCarey transforms it , through his customary affection for his characters and taut pacing, into delightfully effective entertainment.
80
Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
McCarey and his team of Dunne and Grant bring a patina of slapstick to this high-society story based on Arthur Richman's play and adapted for the screen by Vina Delmar. [03 Oct 1991, p.12]
80
The New YorkerPauline Kael
The New YorkerPauline Kael
Irene Dunne's way with a quip is to smile brightly and wring it dry, but she's at her best here.
The film lacks the crackle of Grant’s later masterpieces yet there remains a great deal to enjoy here with an ending that surprises with its tenderness, not-so-subtle eroticism and visual wit.