Kate is troubled by the profits she makes from furniture sellers who do not know the value of what they are selling; the contrast between homeless people in her neighborhood and her own comfortable life; and the fact that her family will only be able to expand their apartment when Andra dies.

The website's consensus reads: "Nicole Holofcener's newest might seem slight in places, but its rendering of complex characters in a conflicted economic landscape is varied, natural, and touching all the same.

[6] Manohla Dargis of The New York Times opined, "Few American filmmakers create female characters as realistically funny, attractively imperfect and flat-out annoying as does Ms.

"[8] Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly gave the film an "A−" and wrote, "With their shared characteristics of sex, age, motherhood, and brunet hair, Keener has become Holofcener's artistic alter ego.

"[9] Justin Chang of Variety commented, "Like Holofcener's previous pictures, Please Give derives its narrative energy less from a series of plotted incidents than from its keenly observed interplay of clashing personality tics and worldviews.

"[10] David Edelstein of New York Magazine described the film as "an engagingly high-strung comedy about lack of empathy and the gnawing guilt that can attend it" and remarked, "Holofcener's plotting can seem casual, but her dialogue is smart, an oscillating mixture of abrasiveness and balm, of harsh satire and compassionate pullback.

"[11] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone gave the film 3.5 out of 4 stars and noted, "The pitch-perfect performances help Holofcener stir up feelings that cut to the heart of what defines an ethical life.