Private Parts
Paramount Pictures | Release Date: March 7, 1997 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
67
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 19 Critic Reviews
Positive:
14
Mixed:
3
Negative:
2
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Rolling StonePeter Travers
What can I tell you? It works. Private Parts is a comic firecracker with a surprising human touch. Read full review
80
SlateDavid Edelstein
Private Parts is so riotous that you almost don't remember how unfunny Stern can be on his radio show. Read full review
80
EmpireCaroline Westbrook
Director Thomas applies the deft comic touch which made The Brady Bunch Movie (similarly ignored outside the US) such a hoot, to make for a deliriously funny, frequently outrageous romp. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesJack Mathews
Private Parts is a supremely crafty, smartly written, and--given the number of "himselfs" and "herselfs" on the cast list--surprisingly well-acted piece of pop kitsch. Read full review
80
Film ThreatChris Gore
While PP does contain the lesbian-toilet-poo-poo-homo-butt kind of humor you would expect, (Ba Ba Booey) underneath that, there is a real movie there with fully developed characters and engaging conflict. It's an absolute must-see. Read full review
80
The New York TimesJanet Maslin
Thanks to sharp editing and surprisingly strong comic timing, the film puts less emphasis on the Stern raunchiness than on how his wilder routines make listeners drive off the road. Read full review
80
VarietyTodd McCarthy
A funny and unexpectedly beguiling account of the outrageous humorist's unlikely rise to the pinnacle of radio celebrity. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
Howard Stern has been accused of a lot of things, but he has never been accused of being dumb. With Private Parts, his surprisingly sweet new movie, he makes a canny career move: Here is radio's bad boy walking the finest of lines between enough and too much. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
Shaped and softened by producer Ivan Reitman, screenwriters Len Blum and Michael Kalesniko, and director Betty Thomas, however, the movie-star Stern is a defanged tiger, funny but tranquilized. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
The question hanging over Private Parts' financial success is whether enough non-Stern fans will venture to see what they may view as a "cult" or "niche" film. Most who take a chance, regardless of what prejudices they harbor against WXRK's top personality, will find themselves rewarded by a surprisingly pleasant two hours. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleEdward Guthmann
Private Parts is witty and fast-paced and makes Stern's raunchy, breast-obsessed, lesbian-fetishizing, big-penis-envying, arrested-adolescent outlook seem like harmless fun. Read full review
75
San Francisco ExaminerBarbara Shulgasser
Private Parts is a sparkling, nonstop entertainment written by Len Blum and Michael Kalesniko and directed by Betty Thomas, but sometimes it gives the impression that Stern is nothing short of Nobel Peace Prize material. Read full review
70
Washington PostDesson Thomson
Unfortunately, the movie is likely to earn more money than praise. If it showcases him in all his glory, it also shows what little glory there is to celebrate. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
Thomas’ comic flair is undeniable, as is Stern’s comic acting ability; all other arguments aside, Private Parts is a consistently uproarious affair, riddled with brilliant comic set-pieces, including Stern’s many, many run-ins with various program directors and NBC brass. Read full review
60
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
Capably directed by Betty Thomas, this freewheeling pseudodocumentary tribute to Stern's juvenile antics paints the anarchic radio idol as Everyschmo made good. Read full review
50
SalonCharles Taylor
The real surprise of Private Parts is that it isn't very funny. It's a flat piece of work with long, slack stretches. Read full review
50
Washington PostRita Kempley
Private Parts, lifted from Stern's best-selling autobiography, is a choppy amalgam of "Revenge of the Nerds," "Father Knows Best" and "Network." Read full review
30
Chicago ReaderJim DeRogatis
In Private Parts Stern is clearly presenting a sanitized version of his story--he had control over every aspect of the film and vetoed more than half a dozen scripts before choosing the one that pleased him--in an attempt to reach a whole new level of stardom. Read full review
25
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
Some scenes paint a convincing portrait of Stern as a witty opponent of stuffiness, prudery, and hypocrisy. Others mix gross-out humor with nasty doses of racism, sexism, and homophobia that reveal a dark side to Stern's professional personality. Read full review
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