Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood
| Release Date: July 27, 2018 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
67
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 24 Critic Reviews
Positive:
20
Mixed:
4
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
83
Entertainment WeeklyChris NashawatyJul 27, 2018
He’s not just a name-dropper, but a master storyteller. Whether you believe every spicy morsel that drops from his lips is entirely up to you. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthyJul 23, 2018
At a certain point, anyone who reads Bowers’ book or sees this film has to decide whether to believe him or not. At this stage, there is no reason not to; Scotty does not seem remotely like a braggart or someone desperate for a sliver of late-in-life fame. Read full review
75
Washington PostAnn HornadayAug 16, 2018
If Bowers’s present-day life has slowed down considerably, his memories haven’t, and the subject of Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood exerts his luridly voyeuristic pull, as he shares name after name of his most shocking exploits. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Nathalie AtkinsonAug 2, 2018
The film is also a chronicle of the sexual politics of the era – and the subsequent systematic erasure of LGBTQ history (under the guise of privacy and not “spoiling” the illusion) by the juggernaut industry that shaped our culture. That perspective on the proclivities makes Scotty as fascinating as it is poignant. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comGodfrey CheshireJul 27, 2018
One of the film’s advantages over the book is that it brings in the testimonies of many other people — from friends and fellow ex-hustlers to Hollywood historians and insiders — all of whom support Scotty’s veracity while adding additional perspectives of their own. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineChuck BowenJul 25, 2018
The film poignantly reveals that the secret history of Hollywood is really an alternate history of America. Read full review
75
Movie NationRoger MooreJul 23, 2018
As our understanding of sexuality and its “fluid” nature among much of the population changes, Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood serves a larger purpose. By telling these tales now, he’s blunting the shock of the pace of changing mores and acceptance of the different. Read full review
75
The Film StageJared MobarakJul 23, 2018
Tyrnauer captures this figure with empathy, humor, and as much fascination as we too possess watching. At the end of the day Bowers’ list of clientele is far less captivating than the fact each member loved and trusted him as an equal. Read full review
70
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzAug 16, 2018
Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood is a fascinating and undeniably irresistible look into that world. You just feel, despite Bowers' sunny disposition, a little dirty about enjoying it. Read full review
70
The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisAug 2, 2018
Mr. Tyrnauer surreptitiously hoses away the layers of dirt to reveal the fragility of his subject’s anything-goes hedonism. Read full review
70
Film Journal InternationalStephen Whitty Aug 1, 2018
It’s a raunchy, rollicking story of movie legends off the set and between the sheets. Read full review
70
Village VoiceRen JenderAug 1, 2018
Scotty offers more than just salaciousness. Read full review
70
New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinJul 27, 2018
You don’t have to be a moralist to see the tragedy of Scotty Bowers’s life. You only have to have an eye for things that don’t fit comfortably. Tyrnauer has that, as well as the compassion not to probe too deeply. What’s onscreen is enough to make you conclude that you can’t make people truly happy without fixing the world. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesGary GoldsteinJul 26, 2018
As a candid and involving socio-sexual time capsule of postwar to pre-AIDS Hollywood and how one free-thinking pioneer made a secret society of legendary artists and performers undeniably happy, “Scotty” definitely succeeds. Read full review
70
SlateInkoo KangJul 26, 2018
It’s an important corrective to many contemporary and historical accounts of Hollywood, reinstating the queerness that has too often been straight-washed out of them. Read full review
70
Screen DailyTim GriersonJul 23, 2018
Tyrnauer smartly dissects how stifling the era’s sexual politics were — and his affectionate portrait of Bowers sneaks in some balance by critiquing him for writing a juicy tell-all that, in essence, outed people without their permission. Read full review
70
TheWrapAlonso DuraldeJul 23, 2018
Even those who object to Bowers’ revelations may find themselves unexpectedly empathetic to his life story, and that’s thanks to Tyrnauer’s compassion. There’s plenty of gossip to be found here, but there’s also no shortage of humanity. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleRichard WhittakerAug 22, 2018
It's not all fun and games, and that's where Scotty can feel a little strained. Read full review
63
The Seattle TimesMoira MacdonaldAug 23, 2018
“Scotty” the documentary, entertaining as it is, leaves its hero’s surface mostly unscratched; his life seems a story still not fully written. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeMark FeeneyAug 15, 2018
Telling all is not necessarily the same thing as telling the truth, even if Bowers’s memory seems as clear as the glint in his bright blue eyes. Maybe it’s his ego that’s not clear — or too much so. Read full review
60
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternJul 27, 2018
Mr. Tyrnauer is a serious filmmaker — his “Valentino: The Last Emperor” was a first-rate documentary portrait of the legendary fashion designer Valentino Garavani. His new doc, which was based on Mr. Bowers’s memoir, “Full Service,” combines tell-all appeal with a seriously significant story of prejudice and hypocrisy on a literally mythic scale. Read full review
60
VarietyPeter DebrugeJul 26, 2018
In short, the movie doesn’t seem nearly skeptical enough of its subject, using his sometimes dodgy memory as a vehicle to remind audiences that their classic Hollywood heroes — so perfect on the silver screen — were human after all, with sex lives and carnal desires like the rest of us. Well, maybe not exactly like the rest of us. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleAug 9, 2018
Wondering what’s real and what’s just a carefully crafted crock doesn’t make Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood a better experience. It makes it a little pointless and frustrating. Read full review
50
Rolling StoneDavid FearJul 27, 2018
A sexual-revolution pioneer, a “gay renegade” who was also “pre-gay,” a cultural saboteur, a sad old man in denial — we get a lot of opaque Scottys, all semi-attached to an alternate “history” that feels maddeningly incomplete and barely surface-scratched. Read full review
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