Charlie Simms is a student at a private preparatory school who comes from a poor family. To earn the money for his flight home to Gresham, Oregon for Christmas, Charlie takes a job over Thanksgiving looking after retired U.S. Army officer Lieutenant Colonel Frank Slade, a cantankerous middle-aged man who lives with his niece and her family.
By the end of Scent of a Woman, we have arrived at the usual conclusion of the coming-of-age movie, and the usual conclusion of the prep school movie. But rarely have we been taken there with so much intelligence and skill.
– Roger Ebert,
Chicago Sun-Times,
1 Jan 2000
fresh:
The good thing is that the principals and film makers make the absolute most of a conventional opportunity.
– Janet Maslin,
New York Times,
20 May 2003
fresh:
Corny and heart-warming, with O'Donnell proving almost a match for the master.
– Derek Adams,
Time Out,
9 Feb 2006
rotten:
Scent of a Woman indulgently stretches a modest conceit well past the breaking point.
– Variety Staff,
Variety,
21 May 2008
rotten:
An irascible bully who proves to have a heart of gold, Pacino's character seems manufactured by a computer programmed with box-office grosses.