Metacritic reviews

In no way is this a serious movie. Still, it's hard to resist.

Never really feels right.

Hard-core chick shlock, weakened by odd shifts in tone and a slack pace, but elevated by a luminous performance by Natalie Portman.

Serves up the usual homilies, but it lacks the quirky density and cinematic snap.

Worthwhile performances (including cameos from Joan Cusack and Sally Field) and one-liners, but don't leave your home looking for Heart.

Home may be where the heart is, but I kept wishing this poor silly girl would up and move.

Portman and Judd aren't responsible for the mendacious and finally repulsive sentimentality of Where the Heart Is, but by the end their wholesome glow seemed contaminated by it, and that's a shame.

Banal and trite where it could have been insightful and emotionally truthful, this Fox release is also notable for featuring the first disappointing performance by teen star Natalie Portman.

Moving in fits and starts, mawkish in its sincerity, and at times disjointed in its lumpy structure.

In comparison to Where the Heart Is, the Wal-Mart commercials seem like cinema verite.