The "Feel-Good Movie of the Year"
Writing in the New York Times, Frank Rich described Slumdog Millionaire as follows:
Our feel-good movie of the year is “Slumdog Millionaire,” a Dickensian tale in which we root for an impoverished orphan from Mumbai’s slums to hit the jackpot on the Indian edition of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.”In fact, searching "slumdog millionare 'feel good movie of the year'" on Google turns up over a thousand hits.
I thought Slumdog Millionaire was an excellent film, but the feel-good movie of the year? That would be like getting a sugar-free lollipop on your way out after a root canal and calling it the "feel-good dentist visit of the year".