82
Metascore
20 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100The New York TimesGlenn KennyThe New York TimesGlenn KennyThe movie culminates in a cinematic coup de grâce bold enough to spin your head — one that gives the movie an entirely new dimension.
- 91ConsequenceClint WorthingtonConsequenceClint WorthingtonNuts! manages to create a fascinating, thrilling portrait of the weirdness of industrial-age America that’s as side-splitting as it is deeply haunting.
- 88Slant MagazineElise NakhnikianSlant MagazineElise NakhnikianThroughout, director Penny Lane strings together telling incidents and anecdotes with a light touch.
- 83The Film StageJohn FinkThe Film StageJohn FinkOne of Penny Lane’s best pictures, Nuts! is quite a brilliant way to tell a peculiar story. Condensing a lot of material into a brief running time, this format allows certain liberties to be taken, particularly when imagined conversations appear.
- 83The A.V. ClubNoel MurrayThe A.V. ClubNoel MurrayUltimately, this isn’t a film about goat balls at all, but the willingness of millions to believe that some slick-talking demagogue knows more about what’s good for them and their families than someone with actual qualifications.
- 80The GuardianJordan HoffmanThe GuardianJordan HoffmanMixing droll animation, stock footage and a restrained number of talking head interviews, the director Penny Lane’s biography has all the whimsy of a tall tale, until a late change in tone surprises with genuine emotion. Nuts! is really a kick.
- 80The Hollywood ReporterDuane ByrgeThe Hollywood ReporterDuane ByrgeA blend of cornpone commentary and tongue-in-cheek exposition, Nuts! is consistently very entertaining.
- 75Movie NationRoger MooreMovie NationRoger MooreThis quick, short Sundance Film Festival award winner leaves out a lot more about Brinkley than in it includes. But save your trip to the library (or Wikipedia) for after the film. The surprises, comic and tragic, are worth waiting for.
- 70VarietyDennis HarveyVarietyDennis HarveyThis now-obscure historical chapter can’t help but be silly in the retelling, and Lane surrenders whole to that silliness.
- 70Screen DailyWendy IdeScreen DailyWendy IdeThe use of animation is sometimes a little crude, but the homespun aesthetic works well with the quirky nature of the story which unfolds.