Goldberg maintains her gruff tone, which helps keep the film from stagnating with sappiness.

NEWYORKER: Sister Act

So if you're willing to indulge a sappiness factor that's off-the-charts, and you don't mind movies that just sort of tread water, The Lake House may be your kind of time-waster.

NPR: Double Feature: Playing with Words, and Time

Happily, the leads carry the day: James Marsden as a prince of grinning vanity, Susan Sarandon as the wicked stepmother (although the climax turns her into something else, again unnecessarily), and, above all, Amy Adams, who, in the role of a would-be princess, finds true momentum, not just sappiness, in the farce of innocence.

NEWYORKER: Enchanted