Jay Boyar

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Orlando Sentinel
For 396 reviews, this critic has graded:
  • 56% higher than the average critic
  • 2% same as the average critic
  • 42% lower than the average critic
On average, this critic grades 1.9 points lower than other critics. (0-100 point scale)

Jay Boyar's Scores

  • Movies
  • TV
Average review score: 64
Highest review score: 100 The Age of Innocence
Lowest review score: 0 Revenge
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 209 out of 396
  2. Mixed: 140 out of 396
  3. Negative: 47 out of 396
396 movie reviews
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    • 73 Metascore
    • 100 Jay Boyar
    Slam
    Not only does Slam strike me as one of the best films about being a writer I've ever seen, it is also the least sentimental coming-of-age movie to come along in years. [06 Nov 1998, p.19]
    • Orlando Sentinel
    • 50 Metascore
    • 100 Jay Boyar
    Cadillac Man
    As good as the supporting players are, Cadillac Man is Robin Williams' show. He gives the production its pace, its zest and its heart. Without him, this movie is unimaginable. With him, it's consistently entertaining. Williams knows what every successful salesman knows: Sell yourself, and you'll sell the product. [18 May 1990, p.20]
    • Orlando Sentinel
    • 69 Metascore
    • 100 Jay Boyar
    A Shock to the System
    A Shock to the System, a dark comedy with the structure of a thriller, is delightfully hard-edged. [23 Apr 1990, p.C1]
    • Orlando Sentinel
    • 90 Metascore
    • 100 Jay Boyar
    The Age of Innocence
    Profoundly moving. [24 Sept 1993, p.17]
    • Orlando Sentinel
    • 66 Metascore
    • 100 Jay Boyar
    Frankie and Johnny
    Frankie & Johnny is no big deal, but it has plenty of laughs and it's appealingly romantic. The movie is a collection of small, trivial things that add up to something that is, while not important, at least entertaining. [11 Oct 1991, p.22]
    • Orlando Sentinel
    • 85 Metascore
    • 100 Jay Boyar
    Naked
    By the end of the film, there's even something vaguely inspirational about our antihero's painful journey through the bowels of his self-created hell.
    • 62 Metascore
    • 100 Jay Boyar
    Prelude to a Kiss
    Prelude to a Kiss is a kind of fairy tale, but it's a fairy tale grounded in human experience. [10 Jul 1992, p.10]
    • Orlando Sentinel
    • 66 Metascore
    • 100 Jay Boyar
    Rush
    The filmmakers should be praised for injecting a stark, sense-quickening drama into the current movie scene. Just say yes to this Rush. [13 Jan 1992, p.B1]
    • Orlando Sentinel
    • 70 Metascore
    • 100 Jay Boyar
    City Slickers
    You may see a better movie this summer, but I doubt you'll see a funnier one. [7 June 1991, p.8]
    • Orlando Sentinel
    • 62 Metascore
    • 100 Jay Boyar
    Henry & June
    Henry & June is a difficult, uncompromising work whose best qualities are not likely to be appreciated by all filmgoers. But it is, quite simply, the most overwhelming film about ultimate freedom to reach us in years. [19 Oct 1990, p.12]
    • Orlando Sentinel
    • 67 Metascore
    • 100 Jay Boyar
    Arachnophobia
    A fast-paced thriller with a wicked bite and a sure sense of humor, it traps you in a web of suspense and makes you squeal with pleasure. [18 July 1990, p.E1]
    • Orlando Sentinel
    • 96 Metascore
    • 100 Jay Boyar
    Children of Paradise (1945)
    This lush classic is funny, dramatic, thought-provoking and always, always, always romantic. [20 Sep 1991, p.43]
    • Orlando Sentinel
      • Posted Apr 16, 2020
    • 52 Metascore
    • 90 Jay Boyar
    Agnes of God
    The movie contains Jane Fonda's first big-screen appearance since On Golden Pond (1981); if she doesn't quite find a character in Martha, she is nonetheless riveting. Anne Bancroft, too, is impressive. Finally, though, it is Meg Tilly who makes the movie live. Her performance, which works on both realistic and symbolic levels, allows you to believe in the story.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 90 Jay Boyar
    What's Eating Gilbert Grape
    What's pleasantly surprising about Gilbert Grape is that director Lasse Hallstrom generally maneuvers quite deftly around his self-created obstacles. In its gently ironic, unforced way, his movie manages to be both uplifting and funny, with the laughs never really being at anyone's expense. [4 March 1994, p.17]
    • Orlando Sentinel
    • 71 Metascore
    • 90 Jay Boyar
    Map of the Human Heart
    This lovely, tentative motion picture tells a captivating tale. [14 May 1993, p.19]
    • Orlando Sentinel
    • 78 Metascore
    • 90 Jay Boyar
    Ruthless People
    The idea behind Ruthless People is just about irresistible. Much of the fun of this comedy is in watching what happens as virtually everyone in the movie tries to double-cross or otherwise take advantage of everyone else.
    • 86 Metascore
    • 90 Jay Boyar
    Like Water for Chocolate
    This delicious, mystical Mexican drama keeps you in an almost constant state of stimulation. [11 June 1993, p.28]
    • Orlando Sentinel
    • 84 Metascore
    • 90 Jay Boyar
    Husbands and Wives
    What I like best about Husbands and Wives is that for the first time in a long time, Allen seems to be experimenting.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 90 Jay Boyar
    Ridicule
    Witty, sharp and, ultimately, chastening, Ridicule is a terrific movie in the sinuous tradition of Dangerous Liaisons (1988). [31 Jan 1997]
    • Orlando Sentinel
    • 71 Metascore
    • 90 Jay Boyar
    Damage
    Malle and Hare have created a devastatingly understated film about the ravages of passion.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 88 Jay Boyar
    The Commitments
    There are so many terrific small moments to discover in The Commitments that there's no danger of ever growing bored. [14 Sep 1991, p.E1]
    • Orlando Sentinel
    • 88 Metascore
    • 88 Jay Boyar
    The Little Mermaid
    Fun-and-fin-filled feature-length Disney cartoon that revitalized the studio's animation department.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 88 Jay Boyar
    Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
    This latest Star Trek is a well-plotted, well-acted and consistently exciting addition to the popular movie series. [6 Dec. 1991, p.21]
    • Orlando Sentinel
    • 83 Metascore
    • 88 Jay Boyar
    The Exorcist
    Working from Blatty's own screenplay, director William Friedkin sets his own unhurried pace. That pace, at times, does seem a tad glacial, and that is the film's biggest failing. But unlike so many horror flicks that followed, this one really is about something. It's about several things, actually: coming of age and letting go, mainly, as well as getting sick and growing old. [2000 re-release]
    • 54 Metascore
    • 80 Jay Boyar
    Trespass
    Director Walter Hill (48 HRS., The Warriors) keeps things moving quickly while making sure that the story doesn't get lost amid the slam-bang action. And Hill's comic-book-style visuals are just about perfect for the material. [08 Jan 1993, p.20]
    • Orlando Sentinel
    • 73 Metascore
    • 80 Jay Boyar
    Of Mice and Men
    They all help Malkovich to do his thing, and a remarkable thing it is. That terrific performance of his just might be a selling point, after all. [16 Oct 1992, p.17]
    • Orlando Sentinel
    • 77 Metascore
    • 80 Jay Boyar
    Fly Away Home
    What's special about Fly Away Home is the delicate yet unsentimental way that Ballard approaches the material. Working from a straightforward script by Robert Rodat and Vince McKewin, he seems to let the story tell itself. [13 Sep 1996, p.23]
    • Orlando Sentinel
    • 67 Metascore
    • 80 Jay Boyar
    Bottle Rocket
    In Bottle Rocket, the small scale and vague amateurishness (especially in the performances) are themselves rather endearing. They seem to go along with the screwed-up characters, as does the loosely structured plot.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 80 Jay Boyar
    My Cousin Vinny
    My Cousin Vinny is a hoot.
    • 51 Metascore
    • 80 Jay Boyar
    Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
    Except for the political implications of the addition of Freeman's character (which he brings off gracefully) and some revisionism about the nobility of the crusades (which, in my opinion, is long overdue), Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves is just an adventure movie - which is basically what I like about it. The second half is stronger than the first because it's swifter and more action-packed. Robin's feats of derring-do are always (as Costner might put it) neat - the more improbable, the better.
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