52
Metascore
23 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 80Film ThreatMerle BertrandFilm ThreatMerle BertrandWould that we could extract the essence of this utterly enjoyable film and distill its creativity, intelligence and originality into a serum which we could then inject into all the tapped-out Hollywood screenwriters and directors out there.
- 70Washington PostMichael O'SullivanWashington PostMichael O'SullivanShakespeare asked, "Or in the heart, or in the head?" It's not a new question by any means, but it's one that is given a fresh and refreshing adult twist by Decena's heady yet steady-handed Dopamine.
- 63Chicago TribuneChicago TribuneThe moody, distinctively San Franciscan Dopamine has other charming little touches -- its humor, its characters, its city life -- that make you want the film to succeed. It doesn't entirely; it's more likable than it is good.
- 58Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanEntertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanA melancholy romance that has the distinction of being the first film set among San Francisco dotcommers that knows it's about the end of the boom.
- 58Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam ArnoldSeattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam ArnoldThere's no disguising the fact that, beneath all its talk, this is a very traditional, very predictable romance; it's sorely in need of some comic relief; and, if you're a non-smoker, you will get very tired of its heroine blowing smoke in your face.
- 50VarietyScott FoundasVarietyScott FoundasA dweeby and unenchanting concoction as romantic comedies go, Mark Decena's debut feature also juggles enough storylines to fill five or six movies in barely 80 minutes of screen time, ending up with a whole distinctly less than the sum of its parts.
- 50Village VoiceVillage VoiceThe premise (does modern neurochemistry debunk love?) is fresh enough, but too much would-be banter falls flat, and the story is woefully schematic.
- 50Dallas ObserverJean OppenheimerDallas ObserverJean OppenheimerThe ideas behind the story are intriguing and could prompt endless hours of lively discussion, but the film proves surprisingly drab.
- 40The A.V. ClubKeith PhippsThe A.V. ClubKeith PhippsThe issues Decena raises rarely get treated on any but the most superficial of levels, and the flatly realized characters make it difficult to care what becomes of them.
- 30L.A. WeeklyScott FoundasL.A. WeeklyScott FoundasThis feels like a movie that was grown in a petri dish -- poked and prodded with all manner of overcooked symbolism and thesis statements, but fatally absent the genuine human emotions about which it incessantly prattles on.