On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds an approval rating of 15% based on 98 reviews, with an average rating of 3.52/10. The website's critics consensus states: "Schmaltzy and manipulative, "Sweet November" suffers from an implausible plot and non-existent chemistry between its leads." At Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 27 out of 100, based on 30 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.