66
Metascore
11 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 75Slant MagazineClayton DillardSlant MagazineClayton DillardThe doc finds pathos in an amiable, fluid construction that chronologically charts the career (and political) ambitions of TV producer Norman Lear.
- 75RogerEbert.comMatt Zoller SeitzRogerEbert.comMatt Zoller SeitzWhile the film works as a primer for viewers who are curious about Lear but don’t know the details of his life and work, it’s more interesting as a movie about age and memory.
- 75Boston GlobePeter KeoughBoston GlobePeter KeoughIn short, the film inserts us into a solipsistic universe of Norman Lear, one that also overlaps many of the most significant social, political, and show-biz issues of the second half of the 20th century.
- 75The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Brad WheelerThe Globe and Mail (Toronto)Brad WheelerThe film is poetically structured and Lear is a spry, emotionally involved participant in a lively bio-doc that succeeds eulogistically and contextually.
- 70VarietyGuy LodgeVarietyGuy LodgeGenerally laudatory in its approach to its irresistible human subject — if Lear’s signature white hat remains immovably on his head, the film’s stays very much in hand — this appreciation is nonetheless most fascinating in a brief stretch where the political correctness of Lear’s work is called into question by black performers.
- 70The New York TimesAndy WebsterThe New York TimesAndy WebsterEffective topical entertainment, we are reminded, rarely comes without creative conflict.
- 60The Hollywood ReporterLeslie FelperinThe Hollywood ReporterLeslie FelperinThe film feels a little too eulogistic, too reliant on hyperbole and too in love with its own gimmicks to make it more than just a serviceable crowd-pleaser.
- 60Los Angeles TimesGlenn WhippLos Angeles TimesGlenn WhippFor a movie about the creator of some of the most pointed, controversial comedies in television history, Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You has a curious habit of sidestepping some of the thornier and more interesting aspects of its subject’s life.
- 50Washington PostAnn HornadayWashington PostAnn HornadayEwing and Grady insert vignettes featuring a young actor playing Lear as a 9-year-old, wandering an empty theater and trying on his analog’s signature white hat. The conceit might have sounded artful on paper, but it doesn’t work on film.