Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story
Gravitas Ventures | Release Date: September 26, 2008 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
66
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 16 Critic Reviews
Positive:
10
Mixed:
5
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
San Francisco ChronicleSteve Winn
For a film that depends so heavily on talking heads, it has both a dramatic arc and a sense of character development. Read full review
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
A fascinating portrait of an almost likable rogue. You'd rather spend time with him than a lot of more upstanding citizens. Read full review
83
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
If you want to hear juicy inside tales of the scams devised by Lee Atwater, the right-wing visionary of media-age dirty tricks, you'll find loads of them in Boogie Man. Read full review
80
The New York TimesJeannette Catsoulis
Generous in spirit and nimble in technique, this riveting documentary about the Republican operative (who died of a brain tumor in 1991) reveals a scrappy genius rife with contradictions. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesGary Goldstein
A hugely entertaining, efficiently crafted documentary about a ruthless, if undeniably clever, American political force. Read full review
75
Christian Science MonitorPeter Rainer
Director Stefan Forbes interviews a slew of victims and beneficiaries of the Atwater attack machine and, in the process, gives us an even-handed portrait of a man who, as much as anybody, bears responsibility for the toxicity of high stakes political campaigning on both sides of the aisle. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneJessica Reaves
By the end of Forbes' brisk, economical portrait, Atwater has been revealed as a repugnant and pathetic soul--and a political visionary, among the first to fully understand and harness the raw power of voters’ fears. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubNathan Rabin
Boogie Man doesn't delve too deep into its subject's private life, beyond some cheap psychology positing his brother's horrible early death as the root of his winner-takes-all philosophy. But then, Atwater's work was his life. Read full review
70
SlateDana Stevens
Boogie Man is nonetheless required viewing for anyone obsessed with the 2008 race. Read full review
67
Portland OregonianStan Hall
Not the stuff of greatness, but you couldn't ask for a better time to see it. Read full review
60
VarietyRobert Koehler
Deeply influential, even to his enemies, Atwater's career is viewed here with fascination and some sympathy. Read full review
60
Village VoiceElla Taylor
Less persuasive is Forbes's perfunctory, psychologically thin rummage through Atwater's childhood for a traumatic event that would explain his utter ruthlessness. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeMark Feeney
If there were a liberal equivalent to Fox News (no, not MSNBC, which is so much milk-fed veal to Rupert Murdoch's steak tartare), Boogie Man is the sort of programming it would thrive on. Read full review
50
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
This talking-heads documentary by Stefan Forbes doesn't waste much time delving into Atwater's misshapen character; instead it focuses on his South Carolina roots and his instinctive grasp of the southern strategy that's been the GOP's key to the White House for the past 40 years. Read full review
40
The Hollywood ReporterJustin Lowe
While Atwater exerted notable influence on contemporary politics, this account of his career doesn't make for particularly absorbing viewing. Read full review
25
New York PostKyle Smith
A documentary that uses against Atwater images of lynch mobs, decades-old racist comments of his onetime boss Strom Thurmond, and a clip of Bryant Gumbel calling him "the architect of the evil campaign." Read full review
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