53
Metascore
40 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 70The Hollywood ReporterSheri LindenThe Hollywood ReporterSheri LindenIf it struggles to find a rhythm, especially in the early going, there’s no question that it sends you off on a gentle high.
- 70VarietyPeter DebrugeVarietyPeter DebrugeIt’s not easy being Ben Affleck, by which I mean, there aren’t many actors who seem so comfortably themselves on-screen, and now that Affleck has reached middle age, he’s capable of bringing fresh depth to his performances.
- 60Screen DailyTim GriersonScreen DailyTim GriersonNeither the milieu nor the insights are especially fresh, despite the tender tone.
- 60The IndependentClarisse LoughreyThe IndependentClarisse LoughreyThe Tender Bar is uneventful. But its performances have such an easy, lived-in quality that it wouldn’t be fair to call it inauthentic – just a little rosy in its outlook, perhaps.
- 50The Film StageAlistair RyderThe Film StageAlistair RyderIn Clooney’s hands there is very little about this coming-of-age tale that proves particularly gripping.
- 50Movie NationRoger MooreMovie NationRoger MooreAs undemanding and shambolic as it is, The Tender Bar takes you in with warm afterglow and some winning, “I’d like to have a drink with that guy” moments.
- 42The PlaylistRafaela Sales RossThe PlaylistRafaela Sales RossIt is a shame that The Tender Bar never truly capitalizes on the quality of its few moments of comedic inspiration, leaning instead towards a melodrama doomed to be forever trapped in afternoon reruns.
- 38Slant MagazineJake ColeSlant MagazineJake ColeThe film insists so forcefully that J.R. has lived a topsy-turvy, singular life that it abandons a potentially more rewarding approach of foregrounding how relatable many of his moments of self-discovery really are.