sometimes the shagginess of the film can make it feel a bit slight and at times it does work better as a concentrated character study, but it's such a joy to spend this time with McCarthy, drunkenly scheming and grumbling, that it's hard to complain
Richard E. Grant is captivating on his own, but his rapport with McCarthy is so effortless that their characters' conversations offer deeper pleasures than the main plot of "Can You Ever Forgive Me?"
Marielle Heller's charming melancholic comedy; The screenplay..shows the hallmarks of the funny-sad balance that distinguishes so many of Holofcener's female-centric character studies [and] McCarthy gives her best performance just in time
it is a shaggy, endearingly dour portrait of the kind of true-life eccentric New York hardly seems to make anymore; If Can You Ever's actual story feels slight, it's worth staying just for the characters
an unexpectedly profound, incredibly true dramedy; Melissa McCarthy's best performance to date, revealing haunting insights into friendship, loneliness, and creative insecurity
a surprisingly rewarding dramedy; McCarthy's performance, which is paired with an equally rewarding turn by Richard E. Grant, anchors this bizarre, compelling true story.. this picture will remind viewers of McCarthy's undeniable talents