Boiler Room
Gaga | Release Date: February 18, 2000 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
63
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 34 Critic Reviews
Positive:
20
Mixed:
12
Negative:
2
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
38
Baltimore SunAnn Hornaday
Blessed with some outstanding performances, among them Ribisi's.
78
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
Remarkable debut feature by New Yorker Ben Younger. Read full review
50
Film.comJohn Hartl
Fails to single out one plot thread and make a claim to it. Read full review
60
Film.comErnest Hardy
Isn't a must-see, but it's definitely worthwhile. Read full review
70
SalonStephanie Zacharek
Made with confidence that borders on bravado, and sometimes it shows more conviction than it does grace. Read full review
60
VarietyEmanuel Levy
Begins extremely well as a saga of greed and conspicuous consumption, but gradually loses its bite. Read full review
88
New York PostLou Lumenick
Pays off with emotional dividends well worth the time investment.
50
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
First-time filmmaker Ben Younger makes not a single false move when delineating the merciless, high-testosterone world of boiler-room brokerages. Read full review
70
Washington PostStephen Hunter
As a piece of journalism then, Boiler Room is first class. Read full review
60
NewsweekAndrea C. Basora
Tries too hard to prove it has a "heart" when the whole point is that its subjects do not. Read full review
75
USA TodayMike Clark
Shouldn't be overrated, but it's the first film of the year - and it's mid-February already - capable of keeping a grown-up awake.
50
San Francisco ExaminerWesley Morris
Generates very little heat.
75
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
Younger, in his debut feature, is as canny as he is derivative. Read full review
63
Chicago TribuneMark Caro
For a movie that begins so intriguingly, Boiler Room becomes boilerplate all too quickly.
80
The New York TimesDana Stevens
Reflects the sensibility of the generation it holds up to critical scrutiny, and it's a cunningly ambiguous act of self-portraiture. Read full review
50
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
Writer-director Ben Younger has sketched the foreground of this picture but never gets around to filling in the details. Read full review
42
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
Suffers by invoking better films about similar themes.
60
SlateDavid Edelstein
If Boiler Room isn't an especially challenging movie, it's still a damn good melodrama -- a boilermaker. Read full review
70
TimeRichard Schickel
Curiously intense, alertly principled, refreshingly uncynical movie.
63
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
Boiler Room's behind-the-scenes veracity makes it highly compelling.
50
San Francisco ChronicleBob Graham
Fascinating -- up to a point. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeJay Carr
Derivative and flawed. But it does throw off a few sparks. Read full review
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
Has the high-octane feel of real life, closely observed. Read full review
75
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
Ends up being empty, anti-climactic and overlong. Read full review
40
Film.comRobert Horton
Mostly this film skims by on the surface, its conflict and climax visible from the opening five minutes. Read full review
70
Dallas ObserverBill Gallo
This pitch-perfect, richly detailed portrait of raw greed works very well. Read full review
70
Rolling StonePeter Travers
The idea of the boiler room as a Y2K gladiator ring for disenfranchised youth provides a proactive new twist.
90
TNT RoughCutChristopher Brandon
The definitive representation of young American men at the start of the 21st century.
75
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
Energetic, provocative. Read full review
30
Chicago ReaderLisa Alspector
Fast-paced editing doesn't compensate for unconvincing dialogue. Read full review
80
Village VoiceAmy Taubin
Takes us inside the consciousness and the coded masculine world of a single character. Read full review
70
L.A. WeeklyF. X. Feeney
You come away from Boiler Room eager to see what Younger will do next. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesEric Harrison
Tries to make larger points, but it trips over itself just trying to make the small ones. Read full review
67
Mr. ShowbizMichael Atkinson
A classic Sundance résumé movie -- texturally interesting, bubbling with ideas, and as structurally predictable as a cardboard box.
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