Microbe and Gasoline
Screen Media Films | Release Date: July 1, 2016 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
75
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 20 Critic Reviews
Positive:
19
Mixed:
1
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
91
Entertainment WeeklyJoey NolfiJun 30, 2016
By the end of Microbe & Gasoline, we feel a little closer to the boy who made the man behind the camera as a result. Read full review
90
Los Angeles TimesKatie WalshJun 30, 2016
There’s an immensity to the small dramas of this awkward in-between stage, where Microbe and Gasoline revel in no longer being boys, but not yet men. Gondry brings a sense of heartfelt nostalgia, pathos and humor to this portrait of a short, unique adolescent moment. Read full review
90
The New York TimesStephen HoldenJun 30, 2016
Time and again, Microbe and Gasoline risks cuteness without going overboard. Too easily taken for granted, its accomplishment is its ability to gaze steadily with warmth but minimal sentimentality at the world through unjaded 14-year-old eyes. Read full review
83
The PlaylistNick SchagerSep 28, 2015
Buoyed by a script brimming with authentic back-and-forth ribbing and confessional exchanges, newcomers Baquet and Dargent exhibit an alternately ribald and frank rapport that, like the film itself, taps into the volatile anxiety of finding one’s self. Read full review
80
TheWrapRuss FischerJul 1, 2016
It sidesteps saccharine wistfulness to flow without pretense, consistently putting its finely-drawn characters before other concerns. Read full review
80
The GuardianLeslie FelperinJun 20, 2016
If this film were a person, you’d want to give it a big hug, as you would a gawky teenager, and reassure it that it will be tough out there, that not everyone is going to get its idiosyncratic charms, but that’s OK because it’s awesome just the way it is. Read full review
80
Time OutDavid EhrlichOct 8, 2015
From its mundane beginnings to its melancholy closing grace note, Microbe and Gasoline is such a wonderfully touching film because it remembers the urgency of wanting to get older without growing up. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperAug 4, 2016
It’s a quirky and unique coming-of-age story. Read full review
75
The Seattle TimesJohn HartlJul 28, 2016
The laughs are sometimes bigger than expected, and so are the emotions stirred by the bittersweet finale. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerTirdad DerakhshaniJul 14, 2016
A cross between François Truffaut's sometimes-harrowing dramas about childhood and a Steven Spielberg fantasy, Gondry's film abounds with sentiment - without falling prey to sentimentality. Read full review
75
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanJul 14, 2016
Microbe and Gasoline doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it just might ride four of them into your heart. Read full review
75
The Film StageMichael SnydelJul 12, 2016
Microbe and Gasoline reaffirms that Gondry has a talent for visually dynamic work about the losses of growing up. Like a faint childhood memory, the film feels formative, but inconsequential. Read full review
75
IndieWireKate ErblandJun 29, 2016
At nearly 105 minutes, Microbe and Gasoline runs out of steam in its second act, but the majority of this sweet, sensitive ride is a real treat. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineEd GonzalezSep 28, 2015
Microbe and Gasoline is enervating for both relishing whimsy and looking behind it to absorb the yearnings of youth and its attendant complications in all their nakedness. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterJordan MintzerJun 20, 2016
There’s a carefree spirit about everything that happens, including all the talk about girls and masturbation, that makes the story as breezy as the summer air, Read full review
70
VarietyPeter DebrugeJun 20, 2016
With Microbe and Gasoline, the French writer-director has wisely restrained his usual flourishes, allowing the two teenage leads in his relatively calm summer-vacation coming-of-age comedy to assume centerstage, imbuing them with creative agency rather than forcing them to compete with the film’s own style. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubIgnatiy VishnevetskyJun 29, 2016
Cutesy title notwithstanding, Microbe And Gasoline stands as one of director Michel Gondry’s most restrained works. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeTy BurrJul 21, 2016
Charming, melancholy, and, in the end, not terribly memorable. Read full review
63
RogerEbert.comNick AllenJul 1, 2016
While Gondry calms his creative instincts to toy with the ordinary, he indirectly errs on making Microbe and Gasoline his first forgettable film. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleJul 15, 2016
It’s a nice movie, and perfectly watchable — yet it’s hard to escape the sense that it should have been more. Read full review
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