Name : Diana Clarke / Alias : Village Voice
This film does not pander. Rather, it demands that the viewer rise to the occasion.

Name : Daniel M. Gold / Alias : New York Times
While affirming the dignity of its subjects, "Mala Mala" shows there's little glamour attached to the pursuit of selfhood.

Name : Adam Nayman / Alias : AV Club
The outcome of this campaign gives the film a heroic arc, and yet amid all the images of celebration and joyful physical abandon the most lingering images are the ones depicting daily routines.

Name : Ronnie Scheib / Alias : Variety
Beginning as a colorful documentary about the Puerto Rican transgender community. Mala Mala slowly morphs into a celebration of solidarity and collective activism without ever losing sight of its likable protagonists.

Name : Frank Scheck / Alias : Hollywood Reporter
Mala Mala depicts its subjects with an uncommon degree of empathy and understanding, not to mention glamor.

Name : Andy Webster / Alias : New York Times
This candy-coated confection is so irresistible that you're captivated by its sentiment even as you acknowledge its manipulations.

Name : Ben Sachs / Alias : Chicago Reader
The story soon gives way to characters kvetching about romance and the working world, their sentiments recycled from the director's other movies.

Name : Tom Huddleston / Alias : Time Out
The sort of movie that adjectives like 'frothy' and 'bubbly' were invented for.

Name : Jordan Hoffman / Alias : New York Daily News
If this Semitic "Strictly Ballroom" and its campy, colorful characters (including a hummus baron!) don't win you over, you may want to check your pulse.

Name : Sheri Linden / Alias : Los Angeles Times
Though the comic confection's clunky moments keep it from achieving souffle delicacy, its bright zingers and seamless fantasy sequences amp the playfulness, and the mostly unforced performances complement the production's cartoonish exuberance.

Name : Serena Donadoni / Alias : Village Voice
Fox infuses Cupcakes with Ofer's can-do optimism, where the power of song can overcome any personal or professional strife.

Name : Ronnie Scheib / Alias : Variety
Israeli helmer Eytan Fox's candy-colored musical is an endearingly goofy celebration of the right to be yourself.