62
Metascore
14 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- My Favorite Year, a slight but sweet backstage comedy, now provides three levels of nostalgia: for the era of swashbuckling stars like Errol Flynn; for the golden age of TV that supplanted it; and for the presence of Peter O’Toole.
- 75The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Jay ScottThe Globe and Mail (Toronto)Jay ScottO'Toole's performance transforms a mundane movie into one of the most scintillating, enjoyable comedies of the year. [01 Oct 1982]
- 70The New York TimesJanet MaslinThe New York TimesJanet MaslinA funny and good-natured comedy that marks the directing debut of Richard Benjamin. Mr. Benjamin works in a steady, affable style that is occasionally inspired, always snappy and never less than amusing.
- 70Time OutTime OutRichard Benjamin directs the smartish script and the chaotic tomfoolery quite brilliantly; but all concerned mishandle the soppy section where O'Toole gets misty-eyed about his discarded daughter. Still, the pace picks up for the magnificent comic climax.
- 70The New YorkerPauline KaelThe New YorkerPauline KaelThis show-business farce is the first film directed by Richard Benjamin, and it's a creaky job of moviemaking, but it has a bubbling spirit; Benjamin is crazy about actors--not a bad start for a director.
- 63The Associated PressThe Associated PressMy Favorite Year probably won't be your favorite movie this year, although actor-turned-director Richard Benjamin tries hard to provide the slapstick escapism today's recession-weary audiences supposedly crave. [27 Sep 1982]
- 60Christian Science MonitorChristian Science MonitorSharp jokes and clever sight gags rub elbows with cheap humor and low slapstick in this comedy about a dissolute movie star preparing to appear on a 1950s TV show. [16 Dec 1982, p.19]
- 40Chicago ReaderDave KehrChicago ReaderDave KehrBenjamin's direction consists largely of giving Richard Benjamin inflections to most of the line readings; for the rest, he blandly shoots the screenplay, leaving large gaps in the narration unfilled and significant contradictions in the characters unexplained.
- 25Miami HeraldBill CosfordMiami HeraldBill CosfordMy Favorite Year moves from bad joke to bad joke, but it does move. [08 Oct 1982, p.D9]