Lorne
Focus Features | Release Date: April 17, 2026 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
57
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 14 Critic Reviews
Positive:
6
Mixed:
8
Negative:
0

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
San Francisco ChronicleG. Allen JohnsonApr 15, 2026
Lorne makes it clear that nearly everyone in the entertainment industry who is known for creating laughs owes a debt of gratitude to the master. Read full review
75
Original-CinJim SlotekApr 15, 2026
If Lorne really is “the most boring” doc of the Oscar-winning Neville’s career, it’s only because his career bar is high. As it is, Lorne is a terrific backgrounder for devout fans of Saturday Night Live. Fairweather fans, on the other hand, might find it like an overlong sketch. Read full review
70
TimeStephanie ZacharekApr 17, 2026
If Lorne is nothing else, it’s a portrait of a guy who knows when to zig and when to zag. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesRobert AbeleApr 17, 2026
It’s a well-meaning impression of a soul-searching documentary (and only an impression), but impressions can still be plenty entertaining. Read full review
67
IndieWireDavid EhrlichApr 17, 2026
Though “Lorne” is prone to some overly relaxed pacing, the film is held tight enough by the grip that Michaels has maintained over his little fiefdom for more than half a century. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleKimberley JonesApr 16, 2026
Any SNL fan, and I am one, is still going to get a kick out of the close access and cavalcade of stars like Tina Fey, Chris Rock, John Mulaney, Paula Pell, and Paul Simon giving testimony. By dint of that access, Lorne is by definition revealing. Revelatory? Not as much. Read full review
60
ScreenCrushMatt SingerApr 17, 2026
Like Saturday Night Live itself, there are too many great comedians involved for it not to be at least occasionally funny. But it’s surely not among Neville’s most insightful films. Michaels guards his secrets like someone in the Witness Protection Program. Read full review
60
Next Best PictureDan BayerApr 15, 2026
Perhaps “Lorne” entertains more than it informs, but somehow, that feels exactly right. Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubTim GriersonApr 15, 2026
If, somehow, you’re just now getting into Saturday Night Live and haven’t already ingested endless lore about the most enduring of sketch shows, Lorne might be a meaningful primer. For everyone else, you’ve heard this joke before. Read full review
50
RogerEbert.comPeter SobczynskiApr 17, 2026
On a basic level, the film is entertaining enough, but anyone hoping for a particularly fresh or innovative take on the show or its creator is probably going to come away feeling a bit let down. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterDaniel FienbergApr 15, 2026
It’s an aggressive glossing-over of a career that is worthy of both reverence and introspection/interrogation/investigation. Entertaining, funny and light on its feet to a fault, Lorne offers only the first. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeOdie HendersonApr 15, 2026
As a documentary about Lorne Michaels, “Lorne” isn’t much; it’s more of a look at “Lorne Michaels,” the character his mysterious nature created. Read full review
40
TheWrapWilliam BibbianiApr 15, 2026
The target demographic for Lorne is SNL fans who won’t benefit from a documentary like Lorne. Read full review
40
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Barry HertzApr 15, 2026
For all the behind-the-scenes footage and ostensible opportunities to grill Michaels about everything and anything, Neville’s film walks away with the impression and insight that anyone paying even half-attention to network television over the past few decades already knows. Read full review
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