America the Beautiful
First Independent Pictures | Release Date: August 1, 2008 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
40
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 13 Critic Reviews
Positive:
5
Mixed:
4
Negative:
4
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
America the Beautiful carries a persuasive message, and is all the more effective because of the level tone that Roberts adopts. Read full review
75
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
A sprawling, messy, frustrating and impassioned examination of the psychological fallout from America's obsession with a highly artificial and all-but unattainable standard of beauty. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleLeba Hertz
Mostly succeeds in unmasking the flaws of fetishizing skin-deep beauty. Read full review
70
Chicago ReaderReece Pendleton
Unexpectedly witty and affecting exposé of the American beauty industry. Read full review
67
Seattle Post-IntelligencerBill White
A wide-ranging, disturbing look at our obsession with our looks. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
Often insightful and more than a little depressing, this is a story that only gets uglier as it goes on. Read full review
50
VarietyRonnie Scheib
Wide-ranging educational documentary attaches itself to the rise and fall of a 12-year-old fashion model, and indeed, its sincere, cautionary tone seems best suited to younger auds and small screen exposure. Read full review
50
New York PostV.A. Musetto
Gerren's story is fascinating, but Roberts dilutes it by going off on tangents about unsafe cosmetics and phony plastic surgeons. Both topics need exploring - just not here. There's more than enough drama in Gerren's life. Read full review
50
Portland OregonianStan Hall
Takes its point -- our nation has an unhealthy obsession with beauty and physical perfection -- and uses it as a bludgeon. Read full review
30
Los Angeles TimesRobert Abele
With so many pointless detours ripping you away, the film feels as lamely digressive as the proverbial one-track guy whose head won't stop turning as each new temptation walks by. Read full review
25
The A.V. ClubNathan Rabin
Roberts blunders amiably and cluelessly through his amateurish eyesore of a documentary on society's obsession with beauty, perpetually searching for a thesis that will transform a shambling mess of half-baked thoughts and pointless digressions into a real documentary. Read full review
20
Village VoiceNick Pinkerton
The scattershot America the Beautiful recapitulates vintage "Beauty Myth" trumpery. Read full review
0
The New York TimesJeannette Catsoulis
Clueless, directionless and altogether pointless. Read full review
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