Me and Orson Welles
Freestyle Releasing | Release Date: November 25, 2009 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
73
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 30 Critic Reviews
Positive:
26
Mixed:
4
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Christian Science MonitorPeter Rainer
One of the sweetest and most heartfelt movies ever made about a life in the theater. Read full review
100
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
The impersonation of Welles by Christian McKay in Me and Orson Welles is the centerpiece of the film, and from it, all else flows. We can almost accept that this is the Great Man. Read full review
100
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
Christian McKay who, as Orson Welles in Me and Orson Welles"gives what I believe is the most exact and uncanny screen portrayal of an historical figure, ever. Read full review
90
The New York TimesA.O. Scott
Art is a fairy tale we choose to believe in, and this movie, a fiction confected about real people, is too good not to be true. Read full review
88
Chicago TribuneMichael Phillips
A real charmer, Me and Orson Welles is the work of a director who takes nostalgia, romantic possibility and the theater seriously, without being a pill about it. Read full review
88
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
Linklater's film adaptation succeeds in bringing the flamboyant Welles to life. Read full review
83
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
A thoroughly credible and deeply entertaining biopic about a titanically famous film personality. Read full review
80
The New YorkerDavid Denby
This is a movie of great spirit and considerable charm. It’s about the giddiness of promise--the awakening of young talent, after years of the Depression, to a moment when anything seems possible. Read full review
80
EmpireKim Newman
A really satisfying backstage drama, this is an exhilarating tour around a man whose talent was almost as big as his ego. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleKimberley Jones
Linklater has crafted an always genial and at times even joyful period charmer about that moment on the cusp: before a boy becomes a man and another man becomes a mythological figure. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
Designed primarily for those who are intrigued by theater, curious about Welles, or some combination of both. Read full review
75
New York PostLou Lumenick
Me and Orson Welles is, in effect, a sequel to Tim Robbins' star-filled, self-important film about "Cradle," but it's far lighter on its feet. Read full review
75
Rolling StonePeter Travers
What do you say about a movie that proves Zac Efron can act, introduces a master thespian in Christian McKay and launches a charm assault that is damn near irresistible? I say, see it. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeTy Burr
The British actor Christian McKay resurrects the young Welles as a magnificent mountain of talent, ego, and unsliced ham. He, and he alone, is reason enough to see this movie. The problem is the “Me’’ - Zac Efron. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam Lacey
The very name Orson Welles stands for genius wasted and betrayed, and the movie offers some foreshadowing of his triumphs and failures to come. Read full review
75
Washington PostMichael O'Sullivan
In addition to McKay, Danes makes a sassy, sexy Sonja. And Efron more than gets by in his role as the sweet, plucky, starstruck newbie. It's a part that doesn't require much heavy lifting, though. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterKirk Honeycutt
Christian McKay's impersonation of young Orson Welles is sensational in this enjoyable, though slight, historical fiction about a teen who spends a memorable week with the legendary wonder. Read full review
70
VarietyTodd McCarthy
There are moments, especially when Welles is alternating between acting as Brutus and directing everyone else, that it’s possible to forget you’re watching an actor and really believe you’re beholding Orson Welles at work. Read full review
70
Village VoiceJ. Hoberman
Deft, affectionate, and unexpectedly enjoyable. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesBetsy Sharkey
McKay, a British stage actor who was doing an off-Broadway production about the movie legend when casting started, and Danes, whose acting always seems so effortlessly good, are the best things about the film. Read full review
70
SalonStephanie Zacharek
A sweet, modest snapshot of a long-lost time when a bold kid with a showbiz dream and a little luck could actually get somewhere, and if he could sing and dance to boot, his chances of success would be even greater. Zac Efron fits right into 1937; in 2009, he's a lost boy. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
Has so little fire that Welles himself would have wondered out loud what he was doing stuck in the middle of it. Read full review
63
USA TodayClaudia Puig
McKay's performance is a revelation. He nails Welles' imperiousness, charm and vocal cadences, and even bears a strong resemblance to the iconic actor/director. He is thoroughly convincing as Welles and electrifies the screen when he's on it. Read full review
63
PremiereMichael Mariani
A lightweight but sincere coming-of-age story. Read full review
63
St. Louis Post-DispatchJoe Williams
The difference between McKay and Efron is like the difference between a Broadway spectacular and a high school musical. Read full review
63
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike Scott
The result is an often-screwball jaunt that isn't without its fun moments. Read full review
60
Time OutJoshua Rothkopf
Maybe this is a good time to mention that the director is Richard Linklater, usually a lot more versatile. Try to imagine a version of Linklater’s "School of Rock" that didn’t pivot on the manic music teacher played by Jack Black but instead, perhaps, on his boring roommate. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
Surprisingly conventional by director Richard Linklater's standards, this pleasant, low-key dramedy is most memorable for the discovery of co-star Christian McKay. Read full review
60
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
Mr. McKay is in his mid-30s, and doesn't conceal it, so what's the point? By taking the KIND out of WUNERKIND, the movie also removes the WUNDER. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubNathan Rabin
Efron has yet to learn that smiling pretty is merely a component of acting, not its entirety. He makes for a supremely passive lead whose chemistry with Danes is nonexistent. Read full review
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