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Harry Forbes (Catholic News Service) writes, "Fans of Keillor and those of Altman will appreciate the film most. The former will enjoy their weekend favorite on the big screen, and the latter will applaud veteran director Altman's return to form, as he uses his unique storytelling to mourn the passing of a gentler age." He agrees that "the country-styled tunes, some gospel-flavored, are a highlight, and the soundtrack CD will, no doubt, make good listening."

Bob Hoose (Catholic News Service) says it's "too bad their film's rambling vignettes climax with Lefty and Dusty's tribute to bad jokes. … A Prairie Home Companion, the movie, certainly isn't going to wreck A Prairie Home Companion, the radio show, no matter how it ends. I just wish Keillor and Co. had stuck to the show's clever commercials, Gospel greats and innocuous tales of Lake Wobegone, and left the rest backstage."

Denny Wayman and Hal Conklin (Cinema in Focus) write, "The genius of director Robert Altman's style is his ability to weave the lives of multiple people in a way that lets you experience them in both their moments of emotional struggle as well as their mundane queries about their daily lives. … Keillor's stories about life in the Midwest are Americana at its finest. These are not people who are role models for saving the world, but they have a homespun reality to them that draws you in and leaves you wishing that life were this charming."

Keillor has charmed mainstream critics as well.

from Film Forum, 06/22/06
Brett McCracken (Relevant) writes, "From the outset we know this film is about endings, and how central to life that theme is—both in an awareness of mortality but also just of the passing of time. Relationships change, culture transforms, priorities shift, life goes on. … Altman's camera passes like a ghostly observer through the halls, back-stages and dressing rooms of the theater, peeping in on various intimate conversations where we only glimpse what must be an incredibly complex web of relationships and history between these people. All of the characters are interesting, though some more than others."

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