Brigsby Bear
Sony Pictures Classics | Release Date: July 28, 2017 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
67
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 35 Critic Reviews
Positive:
26
Mixed:
9
Negative:
0
Watch Now
Buy on
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Expand

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
91
The PlaylistKyle KohnerAug 6, 2017
Brigsby Bear is easily the biggest surprise film of the year and is worth every laugh and tear that it brings. Read full review
90
The New York TimesManohla DargisJul 27, 2017
Mr. Mooney, currently cutting it up on “Saturday Night Live,” manages the twists and tonal fluctuations in Brigsby Bear beautifully. Read full review
87
The VergeTasha RobinsonFeb 7, 2017
Brigsby Bear holds together because it’s so flawlessly navigated and so utterly sincere. James has his ups and downs, but they aren’t manipulative, cheap, or calculated. Read full review
83
ConsequenceDominick Suzanne-MayerJan 27, 2017
Brigsby Bear offers a touching and daringly unconventional reminder of how no approach to filmmaking is inherently bad with the right mind at the helm. Read full review
80
Total FilmNeil SmithDec 11, 2017
An outlandish high concept is a recipe for hope and humour in a film that bears viewing more than once. Read full review
80
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzAug 10, 2017
Brigsby Bear is charming, sweet, creative, different and disturbing. Read full review
80
TimeStephanie ZacharekJul 27, 2017
Brigsby Bear is a sweet-natured picture with an undercurrent of prickly energy. Read full review
80
VoxAlissa WilkinsonJul 27, 2017
Brigsby Bear is about how the things we love help us find where we belong. Read full review
80
New York Magazine (Vulture)Emily YoshidaJul 27, 2017
It elicits more than a few excruciating laugh-out-loud moments, but it’s also tragic and vulnerable — not to mention frequently unpleasant. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesJustin ChangJul 27, 2017
Brigsby Bear becomes a winning tribute to the joys of amateur filmmaking, one whose lovingly crafted sets and props recall the handmade sensibility and do-it-yourself spirit of other independent movies. Read full review
80
VarietyGeoff BerkshireJan 27, 2017
Rather than milking the outre premise for broad comedy, everyone involved strives to keep the characters and situations grounded and warm. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliAug 10, 2017
The story is engaging and McCary provokes an emotional response with his careful and nuanced handling of the main character’s mindset and situation. Read full review
75
Philadelphia Daily NewsGary ThompsonAug 10, 2017
Suffice it to say that as James is pushed into the real world, the real world is more than willing to meet him halfway, in a way that is touching and charming, and at the same time plausible. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Brad WheelerAug 3, 2017
An oddball charmer of a motion picture about nostalgia, the pursuit of artistic passion and a coming of age bizarrely delayed and uniquely fulfilled. The bear itself is but a bit player. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperAug 3, 2017
"Brigsby” wins the day thanks in large part to the sharp and original screenplay, and the uniformly fine work from one of the more interesting casts of the year. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyChris NashawatyJul 27, 2017
The result is a slight, handcrafted indie that’s sweet, skewed, and feels a bit like a skit stretched out to feature length. Read full review
70
Village VoiceApril WolfeJul 27, 2017
McCary and Mooney ground this story in sincere emotion and mostly avoid straying into easy-laugh SNL shorts territory. Read full review
70
Screen DailyTim GriersonMay 22, 2017
Gradually, the movie becomes a compassionate but constructive commentary on the danger of nostalgia — how it seduces us into sticking with worn-out pleasures at the expense of new experiences and challenges. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeFeb 2, 2017
Kyle Mooney (a longtime McCary collaborator on Saturday Night Live and elsewhere) is winning in the lead role, naive but not cartoonishly so in a film that walks a fine line, credibility-wise. Read full review
70
We Got This CoveredJordan RuimyJan 31, 2017
Although the film flies off the rails in its climax, the rest of Brigsby Bear is an outrageous concept that’s pulled off quite well. Read full review
67
Tampa Bay TimesSteve PersallAug 17, 2017
Director Dave McCary maintains a suitably goofy tone and inspired casting (Hamill, Greg Kinnear, Claire Danes) make for a pleasantly uneven experience. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleSteve DavisAug 16, 2017
Viewers hoping for a foray into "Donnie Darko" territory will be disappointed by this shift in tone. But those who like things sentimental and sweet – and there’s nothing wrong with that – will find comfort in the notion of leaving the past behind to allow the future to go forward. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeTom RussoAug 9, 2017
Sincerity turns out to be the default tone for Brigsby Bear, making this indie’s odd concept of an accidental man-child wrapped up in a Teddy Ruxpin fantasy world feel odder still in the execution. Read full review
63
Washington PostStephanie MerryAug 3, 2017
“Brigsby” never ventures into the caustic simply for the sake of comedy. These days, that’s refreshing. There aren’t many movies that value sweetness over cynicism. Read full review
63
RogerEbert.comBrian TallericoJul 28, 2017
It shines through just enough to warrant a look but not quite enough to elevate this into the memorable experience it could have been. Read full review
63
Slant MagazinePeter GoldbergJul 24, 2017
The film has such a goofy sense of humor and affection for its premise that its uneven narrative is sometimes only as frustrating as a little static on an old VHS. Read full review
60
EmpireNick de SemlyenDec 12, 2017
A film about a cult that might well attract a cult following itself. But it’s only moderately successful, with the early scenes hinting at a bolder, more satisfying tale that could have been. Read full review
60
TheWrapRobert AbeleJul 26, 2017
Its low-gear celebration of fandom-inspired ingenuity, and belief in the power of creating as a reparative balm, earns it enough well-deserved smiles when things fall predictably into place in the latter stages. Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubA.A. Dowd Jul 26, 2017
The big finale never reaches "Chuck & Buck" levels of therapeutic catharsis, because Mooney hasn’t really let us see James’ pain, only his gushy wide-eyed innocence, his lovability. Read full review
58
The Film StageJordan RaupJan 27, 2017
Dave McCary’s directorial debut is a film of imagination, adventure, and discovery, but also one too hesitant to challenge in its tone, traveling down a tiresome path of tropes. Read full review
51
Paste MagazineKenji FujishimaJul 27, 2017
Brigsby Bear is so committed to its brand of self-congratulatory uplift that the filmmakers refuse to contemplate any of their material’s darker aspects. Read full review
50
Movie NationRoger MooreAug 16, 2017
The third act has moments of tenderness and warmth that belie the featherweight film they’re tucked into. And any movie that lets Hamill show off his malleable voice-over skills, and play a human being, is to be treasured. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleAug 2, 2017
It’s imaginative and even brilliant at times, and then it starts to cave in. But then we think no, maybe not, maybe everything’s going to be made right . . . until it collapses completely. A cynical, smart movie about the dangers of mass culture gives way to a sentimental embrace of the very thing it’s criticizing. Read full review
42
IndieWireDavid EhrlichJan 27, 2017
While too silly and open hearted to hate, Brigsby Bear begins with a premise that’s weird enough to be good, but settles for a weak trajectory that isn’t good enough to be weird. Read full review
40
The New YorkerRichard BrodyJul 27, 2017
Spunky yet maudlin, grim yet heartwarming, the movie—written by Mooney and Kevin Costello—is mainly a batch of hollow gestures. Read full review
More From This Movie

67 Critic Reviews

7.5 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