Mayor of the Sunset Strip
First Look International | Release Date: March 26, 2004 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
71
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 27 Critic Reviews
Positive:
20
Mixed:
7
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Film ThreatBob Westal
Compulsory viewing for anyone with the slightest interest in rock history or the power of celebrity. Read full review
100
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
Like its star, it's quietly sincere and compulsively watchable. Read full review
90
Dallas ObserverGregory Weinkauf
This may sound an eensy bit hyperbolic, but dig: Mayor of the Sunset Strip is the greatest rock-and-roll movie of all time. Read full review
89
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
"Always be good to rock and roll and it will always be good to you," the film quotes Phil Spector as saying, and a more fitting explanation of the Bingenheimer mystique you'll likely never find. Read full review
88
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
Ultimately, Bingenheimer seems underwhelmed with himself. The people who know him say, in the movie, that he's a relic. Mayor of the Sunset Strip makes heartbreakingly clear what a glorious relic Bingenheimer is. Read full review
83
Portland OregonianMarc Mohan
His life stands as a testament to the idea that an average-looking bloke with a can-do attitude and a dream in his heart can rub shoulders with the folks the rest of us only get to read about. And he's got the photographs to prove it. Read full review
80
Washington PostRichard Harrington
An elegy for an aging rock pixie. Read full review
75
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
Hickenlooper does a nice job blending Bingenheimer's flashy past with his somewhat pathetic present, creating a genuinely compelling study in diminishing returns. Read full review
75
New York PostLou Lumenick
Documents the life of Rodney Bingenheimer, a teenage outcast who parlayed a youthful stint as double for Davy Jones of the Monkees into a 40-year run as a real-life Forrest Gump. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleRuthe Stein
Bouncy, informative and funny documentary. Read full review
75
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
With very few natural gifts, Bingenheimer managed to spend his life doing something he loved among people he worshipped. At the end of the game, very few people can make such a claim. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
It's a funny-sad portrait of fame and its junkies, and of an era and its music. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
Hickenlooper's film evokes what the Japanese call mono no aware, which refers to the impermanence of life and the bittersweet transience of things. There is a little Rodney Bingenheimer in everyone, but you know what? Most people aren't as lucky as Rodney. Read full review
75
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
Energetic, nostalgic, occasionally troubling movie. Read full review
70
L.A. WeeklyJon Strickland
Hickenlooper can't contain Bingenheimer's incredibly generous spirit -- so generous that, while obviously uncomfortable, he lets the director into his most private moments, including the scattering of his mother's ashes. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
Made by Hickenlooper over a six-year period, "Mayor" is rich in interviews, with comments from rock stars. Read full review
70
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
Anyone lucky enough to have lived within broadcast range of Rodney Bingenheimer's radio show on L.A.'s KROQ during the late '70s had a privileged upbringing, whether or not they realized it at the time. Read full review
70
The A.V. ClubScott Tobias
Through Bingenheimer, the film not only gets the last word on the peculiar allure of celebrity, but also captures a fascinating shadow history of West Coast rock, which owes no small part of its livelihood to Bingenheimer's influence as a tastemaker. Read full review
70
SalonStephanie Zacharek
What comes through most vibrantly in Mayor of Sunset Strip, shining through Bingenheimer's low-key, laid-back, almost monotone manner of speaking, is how much the music has meant to him, even if it never exactly lined his pockets. Read full review
70
SlateDavid Edelstein
Creepily entertaining. Read full review
60
VarietyPhil Gallo
Spectacular song selection gives the docu an appropriate rock 'n' roll swagger and accompanying soundtrack would be a valuable overview of the bands championed by Rodney on the ROQ. Read full review
60
The New York TimesStephen Holden
Keeps its claws carefully retracted. That's probably for the best, since the documentary still leaves a bitter aftertaste. Read full review
60
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
This absorbing documentary by George Hickenlooper (Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse) spends too much time on the celebrities in Bingenheimer's life for its analysis of fame and fandom to rise above the banal. Read full review
58
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
Gentle Bingenheimer, who retreats from being ''figured out,'' is dubiously honored with unenlightened commentary by people hell-bent on doing so. Read full review
50
Village VoiceJ. Hoberman
Engaging, if ultimately wearisome. Read full review
50
PremiereGlenn Kenny
I wonder if there was a point in the making of this film at which Hickenlooper might have realized he picked the wrong subject. [May 2004, p. 18]
40
EmpireStaff (Not credited)
The resulting portrait seems cruel at times, and Bingenheimer's little-boy-lost expression can be heartbreaking. Read full review
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