Beefcake
Strand Releasing | Release Date: October 29, 1999 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
52
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 15 Critic Reviews
Positive:
5
Mixed:
8
Negative:
2

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
Mr. ShowbizKevin Maynard
Tries to have it both ways -- as a kitschy ode to bodybuilding culture and as a tragic story of a man who was persecuted for his dreams.
70
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
Fanciful and highly entertaining docudrama. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleRussell Smith
There's an undeniable energy, originality and -- most hearteningly -- optimism here that makes Beefcake well worth your time, shortcomings and all. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeJim Sullivan
It leaves you with an odd, sweet-and-sour taste - nostalgia painted in pastel colors, streaked with black smears. Read full review
63
Chicago TribuneJohn Petrakis
Much to enjoy in this potpourri of silly fun and forbidden games, but a bit less ambition and a tad more focus might have helped.
60
VarietyDennis Harvey
As a mix of nonfiction and wafer-thin drama, however, it's a genial mess in which both elements emerge undercooked Read full review
60
Los Angeles TimesKevin Thomas
An illuminating and engrossing look at the life and times of pioneer Los Angeles physique photographer Bob Mizer Read full review
60
Village VoiceVince Aletti
Beefcake's messiness has real charm, and its tribute to Mizer is both appropriately complicated and poignantly sexy. Read full review
60
The New York TimesStephen Holden
A fascinating double-edged portrait of 1950s Los Angeles. Read full review
58
Seattle Post-IntelligencerPaula Nechak
A heady, impressionistic mixture of biography, fantasy and social history in which it isn't always clear which is which. Read full review
50
Film.comErnest Hardy
Like the melancholy remininces of an old relative who lived through an exciting, even harrowing time, but no longer possesses the mental faculties to really flesh out the tale they're spinning. Read full review
50
New York Daily NewsJami Bernard
This movie's attempt to reinvent Mizer as a First Amendment hero isn't as effective as its triumphant display of beefcake, which is, after all, the movie's raison d'etre. Read full review
40
Chicago ReaderLisa Alspector
Ultimately this is a sharp-focus issue movie, decrying intolerance as it explores the effects of labeling, the complexity of fetishizing, and the differences between business and crime. Read full review
38
New York PostJonathan Foreman
A campy docu-drama about the secretly gay world of 1950's muscle magazines.
20
L.A. WeeklyChuck Stephens
Dull, tacky docudrama Read full review
More From This Movie

52 Critic Reviews

tbd User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 81 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
2 77 Project Hail Mary
3 75 Send Help
4 73 Hoppers
5 72 The Sheep Detectives
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL