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The following are just a few of the reviews I have found on the Internet. The awards the film has won, what the critics thought, and what the audiences say when they act as backyard critics (taken from imdb.com)

"Looking For Alibrandi" has recieved these major awards

Australian Film Institute Awards:
Best Film - Robyn Kershaw
Best Supporting Actress - Greta Scacchi
Best Actress � Pia Miranda
Best Achievement in Editing - Martin Connor
Best Screenplay Adapted from another source - Melina Marchetta

IF - Independent Filmmakers Awards:
Best Script � Melina Marchetta

What the Critics said:

Smart, fast, funny, personal and perceptive, the new Australian film Looking For Alibrandi is one of the year's best. This is fuelled by a radiant performance by star-in-the-making Pia Miranda and backed by a terrific cast of charismatic experts. --Rob Lowing, The Sun-Herald, May 2000

Marchetta and Woods present the cliches only to confound your expectations by reinventing them with subtle writing and engaging performances. There have been some fine Australian films in the past couple of years, but very few as upbeat as this one. I'd put it alongside John Duigan's classics of adolescence, The Year My Voice Broke and Flirting. --Sandra Hall, The Sydney Morning Herald, May 2000

This is a film full of good intentions, likeable performances and certain hooks that may prove irrestisible, such as the "girl power" vibe and (as in The Wogboy) a multicultural-friendly ambience. It lacks, however, the cleverness and style that couild have made it a landmark in Australian cinema. --Adrian Martin, The Age, May 2000

The movie show reviews:

Reviewed By Margaret Pomeranz

Josie (Pia Miranda) is in her final year of high school, a scholarship student at a posh private school... Josie�s the illegitemate child of Christina - (Greta Scacchi) and she feels that because of her birth her family is cursed... her Nonna (Elena Cotta) has a spy network to report on every misdemeanour - and is particularly put out when Josie�s natural father Michael (Anthony LaPaglia) returns to Sydney after becoming a successful lawyer in Adelaide... Josie has a lot to deal with - she likes John Barton - (Matthew Newton), who�s from an establishment background - but is also attracted to the more freewheeling Jacob - (Kick Gurry) ... it�s a confusing time in a young woman�s life...
The casting of Pia Miranda as Josie was one of those things that happen in film that are magic... she�s such a wonderfully natural performer, bringing all the energy, intelligence and anguish of this wonderful character to life... but all the performances are so natural - Greta Scacchi, Anthony LaPaglia... and Elena Cotta is magnificently affecting as Nonna... but basically you just want to go on and on, mentioning each and every performance, because this film is about characters and Kate Woods direction allows you to get to know them and embrace each and every one of them... Technically this film is a joy... it�s one of those Australian films that ought to get everyone excited...
* * * * 1/2

David�s Comments:

Pia Miranda, on screen in almost ever scene, is magical in this fine adaptation of the popular book. She�s supported by a uniformly excellent supporting cast in a film which is more than just the conventional rites-of-passage story about a teenage girl growing up in an ethnic community. Josie�s world is full of pain, too, as well as happiness.
* * * *

What the audiences thought:

Looking for Alibrandi is the best Australian film I have seen in a long time. The movie deals with plenty of issues that are no stranger to todays youth. It's a very real and smart movie about a young girl coming to terms with herself. Adapted from the most stolen book from Australian High School libraries by the author of the book, it maintains its dignity unlike a lot of adaptations.
Looking for Alibrandi is a movie that every person should see. I highly recommend that you watch it. -- thomcat2000 -10 May 2001

I didn't see this film until about a year after it came out, even though I'd really wanted to see it. Everyone I asked about the film said it was excellent, fantastic, especially because "it's so much like the book!" Now I thought this was unusual because as everyone knows, movies almost always twist up the books they're based on; and I thought, wow, here was something that might be an exception. But when I watched the movie, after reading the book, I was very disappointed. It's not as funny, and, well, it's just nowhere near as good. I think that if I hadn't expected the movie to be so much like the book, and if I'd never read the book before, I would have enjoyed the movie so much more. But since that wasn't the case, I was hugely disappointed with this film. -- Brisbane - 02 May 2001 (Edited for brevity)

What I say:

The reviews from the audience were much more critical of the film, however I believe this is because the book on which the film is based is such a loved piece of literature in Australia. Many of the negative reactions are based on the films comparison to the book, although this cannot be helped I think that the film should be judged on its own mertis, or failures, not on its ability to be the novel. Because I had not read the book prior to watching the film I had no basis for comparisson, and I think this helped. After reading the book I can see that yes, the book contains alot more detail and character depth and emotion, but the film does an amazing job of sqeezing the story into a nice package. Everytime I watch "Looking for Alibrandi" I enjoy it just a little bit more. It has gone from being a likeable, watchable movie, to one of my all time favorites.