On
Rotten Tomatoes, it has a 62% approval rating based on 34 reviews, with the consensus: "
Half Magic never quite fulfills its apparent goals, but this comedy from writer-director-star Heather Graham is still occasionally affably diverting." On
Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 49 out of 100, based on 9 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.
Frank Scheck of
The Hollywood Reporter wrote, "
Half Magic is a lighthearted ode to female empowerment, and its theatrical release feels perfectly timed to the
MeToo movement. While the pic proves too frivolous to make its satirical and social points fully register, it offers diverting pleasures along the way...due to the talents of its appealing female leads, who score consistent laughs, and the well-earned authenticity that Graham brings to the milieu.” Nicholson added "Graham’s passion is sincere, even if her tone and rushed pace — the byproduct of cramming in every idea in case she doesn’t get a second chance — teeters on sitcom.” Susan Wloszczyna of
RogerEbert.com criticized the film's script as dated and wrote, "
Half Magic is a stumble backward in its cartoony portrait of modern-day womanhood. But I must give props to Kinsey, whose comic timing, amusing self-deprecation and grounded likability allows her to be the only cast member to come close to resembling an actual human being." ==References==