Official Competition
IFC Films | Release Date: June 17, 2022 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
79
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 33 Critic Reviews
Positive:
32
Mixed:
1
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
The Irish TimesTara BradyAug 26, 2022
Everyone on screen is having a ball — albeit behind the straightest of faces — in this uproarious gallimaufry of movie-related pretentiousness. Read full review
100
The TelegraphTim RobeyAug 25, 2022
Smart comedy is already a rarity; smart comedy that looks this good is a once-in-a-blue-moon event. Read full review
91
The PlaylistSophie Monks KaufmanSep 17, 2021
Detail is what makes Official Competition a joy to behold. Read full review
90
Wall Street JournalKyle SmithJun 17, 2022
All three of these attractively awful figures are to egotism approximately what the sun is to light, which makes for a delightful triangular battle for supremacy not unlike the one in All About Eve. Clever plotting—an early, seemingly throwaway scene in which Félix does some goofy martial-arts training turns out to be critical—and inventive character details enhance the wicked fun. Read full review
90
Rolling StoneDavid FearJun 16, 2022
The movie would hit every bullseye it needed to even without her near-surgical deconstruction of the narcissistic monsters who scream “action” and “cut.” With Cruz’s take on artistic “genius,” however, this satire officially becomes a work of actual genius. Read full review
88
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Kate TaylorAug 30, 2022
This Spanish-language satire of the film industry, from the Argentinian duo Mariano Cohn and Gaston Duprat, is one big and delightful inside joke for the art-house aficionado. Read full review
88
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanJun 21, 2022
The pretentiousness of acting is a fun thing to lampoon, and “Official Competition” does it with surgical precision. Read full review
80
Little White LiesDavid JenkinsAug 31, 2022
Even though the film is packed with belly laughs, it is never spiteful or denigratory, and always appears thankful for the fact that pampered artists can produce miracles if they’re given the time and resources to do so. Read full review
80
The Observer (UK)Wendy IdeAug 28, 2022
It dismantles the lofty ambitions of cinema as great, important and significant, a monument on the cultural landscape. Instead, it shows us art for ego’s sake, and it has a lot of wickedly spiteful fun doing so. Read full review
80
The IndependentClarisse LoughreyAug 25, 2022
Official Competition may be yet another satire on filmmaking, but it’s the rare iteration that’s nuanced enough to understand that self-awareness does not equal absolution. Read full review
80
The GuardianCath ClarkeAug 24, 2022
It’s a very funny film, sending-up human absurdities without being too mean. Cruz is a talented comedian, but she smartly plays it straight-ish here. You never doubt for a moment Lola is the real deal. Nor that Cruz is either. Read full review
80
Film ThreatJason DelgadoJul 21, 2022
Official Competition is a bit long and could have used some more of the offbeat humor that it excels at. But overall, it’s a worthwhile journey into pulling back the curtain satirically on movie magic. Read full review
80
IGNTara Bennett Jun 23, 2022
Official Competition is a sharp black comedy that skewers grandiose wealth, egocentric artists, and how quickly art is swallowed by money and celebrity. Read full review
80
TimeStephanie ZacharekJun 20, 2022
All three actors are clearly having a blast with this satire of actorly egos and vanity projects, but it’s Cruz who truly dazzles. Read full review
80
Screen RantMae AbdulbakiJun 17, 2022
Bolstered by an incredible cast, the film offers commentary on filmmaking as an art and the lengths the characters will go to outshine each other. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesSarah-Tai BlackJun 17, 2022
Official Competition is a coy satire that makes welcome use of biting meta-commentary and self-reflexive critique. Read full review
80
SlashfilmHoai-Tran BuiJun 12, 2022
Cruz is the film's MVP as Lola, kookier than she's ever been, and playing well into the character's question mark of a persona — is she a true auteur or a hack? You never really find out, but watching Lola become increasingly disillusioned with the whole project makes her the closest we get to a relatable character in this whole heightened satire. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterLovia GyarkyeSep 17, 2021
Despite its commitment to biting humor and acerbic analysis, Competencia Oficial is, at its heart, a celebration of artists and their process. Read full review
80
Time OutPhil de SemlyenSep 10, 2021
If awards season gets up your nose, with its self-congratulatory speeches and luvvie back-patting, this playful and wildly entertaining Spanish satire on the filmmaking process is the perfect antidote. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleKimberley JonesJun 29, 2022
Spiritually, Official Competition’s closer point of comparison may be the films of Ruben Östlund (Force Majeure), which similarly chronicle humans at their worst (gawwww, humans really are the worst) with visual wit and from a wry remove. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleJun 27, 2022
Argentine filmmakers Gastón Duprat and Mariano Cohn (who wrote the film in collaboration with Duprat’s brother, Andrés) direct Official Competition with a sophisticated understanding of its tone, which is essentially realistic and deadpan. The world isn’t crazy, just the people in it. Read full review
75
Original-CinKaren GordonJun 24, 2022
The Spanish comedy/satire Official Competition plays on those clichés, and yet doesn’t really say anything new. But thanks to its A-list cast, led by Penélope Cruz and Antonio Banderas, it’s quite enjoyable. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeMark FeeneyJun 22, 2022
The Spanish-Argentine comedy is about as far from being a CGI-fest as you can get, but Cruz’s hair is a very special special effect. Its oxblood abundance is torrential, jungley, diluvian, an in-your-face to the very concept of baldness. It’s also gloriously ridiculous, and ridiculousness masquerading as glory — male pomposity and artistic pretension, too — is what “Official Competition” is all about. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comMatt Zoller SeitzJun 17, 2022
The film's main goal is to make us laugh and pull the rug out out from under us. But while there's a bit of pathos here and there, the movie doesn't add up to much in the end. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubMark KeizerJun 15, 2022
Consistently amusing, if about a reel too long, it’s a tightly controlled, low-boil send-up of the acting process. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineWilliam RepassJun 13, 2022
Official Competition is another film about filmmaking, but it escapes hermeticism by homing in on actors and acting. Read full review
75
IndieWireNicholas BarberSep 17, 2021
Seeing Cruz and Banderas show off their comedic chops is definitely a pleasure, and the farcical final scenes will leave viewers on a high. But this film won’t win many competitions, official or otherwise. Read full review
70
The New YorkerAnthony LaneJun 20, 2022
In short, Official Competition is nicely balanced, and the poiser-in-chief is Cruz, whose portrayal of Lola goes way beyond simple wackiness. Read full review
70
The New York TimesA.O. ScottJun 15, 2022
In the end, this is a one-joke movie — a shaggy-dog meta-narrative — but it’s not a bad joke. Read full review
70
Screen DailyJonathan RomneySep 17, 2021
Essentially a frothy bagatelle, and sometimes overworking the slightest of jokes, nevertheless this lively, sleekly executed farce from the Argentinian makers of black comedy The Distinguished Citizen offers comic and visual pleasures alike, plus crisp acting from its lead trio. Read full review
70
VarietyGuy LodgeSep 17, 2021
Cruz is quite obviously having a ball sending up the ivory-tower vanities and mannerisms of the prodigious auteurs she’s worked with over the years. It’s a performance of fizzy, frenzied, physically elastic inventiveness, though she doesn’t render Lola a complete cartoon. Read full review
65
TheWrapBen CrollSep 17, 2021
Co-directors Gastón Duprat and Mariano Cohn would rather offer viewers a no-concept, light and breezy big-screen hangout, betting that audiences will turn out to watch a pair of beloved celebs cut loose, and that the actors’ megawatt charisma will be enough to carry the show. At least for a certain amount of time, the bet pays off. Read full review
50
Movie NationRoger MooreMay 7, 2022
As a fan of Cohn and Duprat’s tighter, darker previous collaborations I was keenly aware of the passage of screen time and slack pacing here. “Official Competition” feels like an 80 minute spoof bundled in the gauze of a 115 minute film. Read full review
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