My Old School
Magnolia Pictures | Release Date: July 22, 2022 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
67
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 25 Critic Reviews
Positive:
17
Mixed:
8
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Original-CinThom ErnstJul 28, 2022
My Old School is an original, fascinating, and compelling documentary that tacks on a gimmick to better tell its story. Although Cumming’s participation can't fairly be called a gimmick if his role makes the film work. Read full review
90
Screen RantRachel LaBonteJul 22, 2022
It's an absurd and stunning story, but it also holds such heart and authenticity that it feels deeply relatable. Read full review
85
Film ThreatAlan NgJul 22, 2022
There is a great deal of heart in My Old School. Read full review
80
The TelegraphRobbie CollinAug 22, 2022
[An] impish and riveting talking-heads piece. Read full review
80
The Observer (UK)Wendy IdeAug 22, 2022
It’s a fascinating story that starts as an affable, strange-but-true tall tale but ends in a decidedly minor key. Read full review
80
The Irish TimesTara BradyAug 19, 2022
Director McLeod — another of Lee’s fellow students — has fun with contradictory accounts, tall tales and faulty memories in a film that pulls the rug just as effectively as its subject and inscrutable star do. Read full review
80
The GuardianPeter BradshawAug 17, 2022
Here is a documentary for anyone who’s ever suffered from impostor syndrome or ever fantasised about going back in time to their school days, to reverse all those heartbreaks and humiliations. In other words: all of us. Read full review
80
Screen DailyFionnuala HalliganJul 22, 2022
This doc/animation hybrid is an eccentric little gem of a story, a tall tale told with irreverent cheer and considerable charm. Chief amongst its many attractions is the actor Alan Cumming, lip-syncing to an audio tape and delivering a performance that is quite uncanny. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterLeslie FelperinJul 22, 2022
Simply designed animation, modeled on the look of cool cartoons of the time such as Daria, adds an extra comic jauntiness. You could say, to use a popular slang term from the 90s, this puts the “mental” back in experimental, but in a good way. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeMark FeeneyJul 27, 2022
Cumming’s performance, or presentation, is at once casual and assured, which makes it all the more compelling. Read full review
75
Washington PostAnn HornadayJul 26, 2022
Although the jokey anecdotes and animated sequences give “My Old School” buoyancy and momentum, that tone sometimes fights with content that isn’t nearly as larky as the film portrays it. Still, there’s no denying that Brandon and his exploits make for an engrossing, often witty meditation on what it means to grow and evolve. Read full review
75
The Film StageChristopher SchobertJul 22, 2022
Whether you know the truth going in or not, My Old School is a hugely entertaining charmer. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubMartin TsaiJul 21, 2022
Cumming is magnificent in this role, mastering the exact rhythm of Brandon’s speech while also interpreting his emotions with a naturalism that blends seamlessly with testimonials from former students and instructors. Read full review
75
Movie NationRoger MooreJul 7, 2022
The resulting film is a fascinating mystery, a weird case study and an unalloyed delight. Read full review
70
VarietyPeter DebrugeJul 22, 2022
Like any good con-artist documentary, My Old School keeps its audience guessing, delighted to be deceived — although there’s a degree to which relying on animation cheats us of the question on everybody’s mind: How could so many have fallen for Brandon’s ruse? Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleRichard WhittakerAug 3, 2022
As the falsehoods stack up and fall away, My Old School will increasingly leave you slack-jawed. Read full review
63
RogerEbert.comIsaac FeldbergJul 22, 2022
My Old School straddles that middle-ground as well, speculating as to the inner workings of a troubled mind but more often settling for the familiar, picaresque pleasures of a great yarn colorfully retold. Read full review
60
EmpireBeth WebbAug 19, 2022
Weighted by a reliably mesmeric performance from Alan Cumming, this visually varied doc misses an opportunity to ask big questions, but still manages to pack a punch on a small scale. Read full review
60
Los Angeles TimesCarlos AguilarJul 27, 2022
In exploiting this anecdote about an impostor hiding in plain sight for its entertainment potential, My Old School feels dismissive toward Lee’s real motivations and gets caught up in the simplistic moral judgment on his questionable actions. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleJul 26, 2022
In the end, “My Old School” is a well-made documentary that succeeds in most ways but that starts to crumple in the face of a single question: Who cares? Read full review
50
TheWrapSteve PondJul 22, 2022
Director Jono McLeod’s filmmaking itself is inventive and odd, and that’s almost enough – emphasis on the word almost – to make up for the fact that the story itself is something of a letdown. Read full review
50
IndieWireRyan LattanzioJul 22, 2022
My Old School seems to believe its surprises are more revelatory than they actually are, and for the sake of avoiding spoiling the whole thing, it’s hard to sum up what the filmmakers were so fascinated by in the first place. Read full review
50
The New York TimesA.O. ScottJul 21, 2022
Its fascination with Brandon becomes a kind of credulity, a willingness to accept uncritically the mystifications of a proven liar. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineDerek SmithJul 19, 2022
The film is a perfectly entertaining retelling of an offbeat tale, but it’s also superficial and borderline exploitative. Read full review
42
The PlaylistLena WilsonJul 22, 2022
Like a poorly-researched presentation glued to the finest poster board and surrounded by glitter and shiny stickers, My Old School is easy enough on the eyes, but it’s hardly done the work necessary to earn top marks. Read full review
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