Listen Up Philip
Tribeca Film | Release Date: October 17, 2014 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
76
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 34 Critic Reviews
Positive:
27
Mixed:
5
Negative:
2
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
The TelegraphRobbie CollinJun 4, 2015
Perry somehow allows his cast enough space in this meticulously authored environment to work creative wonders of their own. Read full review
100
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsOct 23, 2014
Writer-director Perry has made a bracing and very Roth-y study of ambition and itchy literary yearning. In another time and another world, Robert Altman captured the essence of William Faulkner's landscape by filming a non-Faulkner crime story, "Thieves Like Us." This is comparable to what Perry has done here. Read full review
100
The New York TimesManohla DargisOct 16, 2014
Words do more than hurt, they also slash and burn in this sharp, dyspeptic, sometimes gaspingly funny exploration of art and life, men and women, being and nonbeing, and the power and limits of language. Read full review
100
The A.V. ClubIgnatiy VishnevetskyOct 15, 2014
The thing is, Listen Up Philip is a comedy — a howlingly funny black comedy with really sharp teeth. Read full review
91
Portland OregonianJeff BakerNov 1, 2014
A brilliantly flinty movie about writers angry at the world for failing to live up to their standards and recognize their genius. Read full review
91
IndieWireEmma MyersJan 27, 2014
Like its central character, Listen Up Philip exudes a kind of highbrow affectation that charms more than it alienates. Read full review
91
The PlaylistRodrigo PerezJan 27, 2014
Trenchantly reflecting on the mishandling of success, blind ambition, idolatry, hero worship and the complex and competitive nature of artists in romantic relationships, Listen Up Philip is brilliantly chock-a-block with resonant observations. Read full review
90
Los Angeles TimesBetsy SharkeyOct 23, 2014
While the intolerance fueling this dark, existential comedy won't be to everyone's liking, the film's cerebral beat-down is a strange and sardonic thing of beauty. Read full review
90
The DissolveScott TobiasOct 15, 2014
Listen Up Philip doesn’t care to be liked. And in that, it deserves to be loved. Read full review
90
VarietyScott FoundasFeb 11, 2014
It’s a familiar tale, but one told by Perry with immense filmmaking verve and novelistic flourish, and acted by an exceptional ensemble cast. Read full review
89
Film.comJordan HoffmanJan 21, 2014
Listen Up Philip is big, sprawling and tortured, if a little lacking in focus – while funny in parts, it isn’t really a comedy. Read full review
88
Boston GlobeTy BurrOct 31, 2014
Jason Schwartzman is a fine actor, but he has a knack for creating characters you want to punch in the face, and Philip, who has a second novel coming out and is intent on burning all his bridges, is almost marvelously obnoxious. Read full review
83
Entertainment WeeklyChris NashawatyOct 15, 2014
I can't think of anyone under 40 who plays arrogant, self-absorbed jerks more convincingly than Jason Schwartzman. I have no clue what the actor's like in real life, but if he's not a complete prick, he deserves an Oscar. Read full review
82
TheWrapAlonso DuraldeOct 16, 2014
Those willing to commit to a fascinating story about talented and intelligent people who can also be selfish, vulnerable, strong-headed, short-sighted, and emotionally needy, however, will want to pull this one off the shelf. Read full review
80
NPRBob MondelloOct 24, 2014
What the women are there for in Listen Up Philip is to be truth-tellers to these childish novelists — especially Philip's eventually assertive girlfriend, who ends up using his books as coasters in a long (and welcome) mid-movie detour from the story of his self-involvement. Read full review
80
Wall Street JournalJohn AndersonOct 23, 2014
A very entertaining black comedy for very mysterious reasons. Read full review
80
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzOct 23, 2014
The acting is outstanding. And there's a lot of humor. True, we're often laughing at Philip (when we're not cringing), instead of with him. But Perry also goes for more traditional laughs. Read full review
80
SalonAndrew O'HehirOct 16, 2014
Once you adjust to Listen Up Philip, it’s also invigorating, disturbing and frequently hilarious, but that adjustment’s not entirely painless. Read full review
80
Time OutJoshua RothkopfOct 14, 2014
It’s a movie that loves boldly “important” ’70s-style dust jackets, loves its own lecturing voice (courtesy of neurotic narrator Eric Bogosian) and somehow makes that mélange strangely appealing. Read full review
75
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanNov 6, 2014
Listen Up Philip makes literary talent seem less like a blessing than a curse. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperOct 23, 2014
Philip is one of the most unlikable but also one of the most fascinating characters of the year. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comGlenn KennyOct 17, 2014
The terrific cast all delves into the material full-bore, which contributes to its peculiar resonance. Perry may hate everyone and everything, but in making a show of it, he’s thoroughly entertaining. Read full review
75
Rolling StonePeter TraversOct 16, 2014
In his third feature, following 2009's "Impolex" and 2011's "The Color Wheel," Perry, 30, offers a stinging portrait of writing as one of the bleeding arts. And he's bloody funny about it in the bargain. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineSteve MacfarlaneOct 9, 2014
By putting so much weight on his characters' speech, Alex Ross Perry's is an approach with honestly few contemporaries in American independent film. Read full review
70
SlateDana StevensOct 18, 2014
While it’s a character portrait of a morally small man, Listen Up Philip doesn’t feel like a morally small movie. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthySep 29, 2014
Technically and in his work with actors, Philip represents a great leap forward for Perry; a subsequent jump might involve presenting a central character with whom viewers could legitimately engage. Read full review
63
New York PostKyle SmithOct 15, 2014
In Listen Up Philip, the tiny fury of Jason Schwartzman suggests his “Rushmore” character is now 15 years older and a middling Brooklyn novelist. His deadpan misanthropy is good for some acerbic laughs in a movie that starts appealingly but gradually comes to seem closed and stuck. Read full review
60
Village VoiceStephanie ZacharekOct 16, 2014
The vainglorious pas de deux between Philip and Zimmerman is entertaining for a while, though the novelty gradually wears off. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanOct 15, 2014
Schwartzman and Pryce are compelling in their self-regard. But it’s no coincidence that the lovely, empathetic Moss is who we root for. Read full review
50
New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinOct 17, 2014
A central figure who’s all bad is even more boring than one who’s all good. He has no dramatic stature. He’s a case study. The audience should be paid to listen up. Read full review
40
EmpireDavid HughesJun 2, 2015
Ultimately, this has the feel of a lazy literary adaptation of a half-remembered novel. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleSteve DavisDec 3, 2014
The antithesis of a feel-good movie, Listen Up Philip is a challenging experience, largely because it refuses to compromise its protagonist’s dogged preoccupation with himself. Read full review
25
San Francisco ChronicleThomas LeeOct 23, 2014
Listen Up Philip wants to say something meaningful about human relationships. But like a frustrated writer staring at a blank piece of paper, the words just never appear. Read full review
25
ObserverRex ReedOct 14, 2014
A pointless, pathetic and profoundly boring send-up of universally acknowledged anti-social author Philip Roth, Listen Up Philip is a juvenile experiment in pretentious idiosyncrasy by amateurish writer-director Alex Ross Perry. He calls his miserable protagonist Philip Friedman, but who’s kidding who? Read full review
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