The Fabelmans

Universal Pictures | Release Date: November 11, 2022

7.3	USER SCORE Generally favorable reviews based on 186 Ratings

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User Reviews

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martingparisDec 17, 2022

A syrupy teen-movie dripping with 60's Americana. Spielberg obviously needed to tell his story, but he should've made another home movie instead and kept it ... at home.

6 of 6 users found this helpful60

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royalguy07Jan 4, 2023

Stevey (I'm assuming he hates being called that by anyone besides his mother after this movie) Spielberg can do whatever he wants deservedly so. And boy am I glad this is out of the way for him, the last hour is pretty uninteresting andStevey (I'm assuming he hates being called that by anyone besides his mother after this movie) Spielberg can do whatever he wants deservedly so. And boy am I glad this is out of the way for him, the last hour is pretty uninteresting and poorly acted. Why we shifted to a high school story is completely unclear to me.… Expand

3 of 3 users found this helpful30

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Method559Jan 18, 2023

Boring, over acted and cheesy. I am a huge fan of the actors and Steven Spielberg yet I fail to see why people are ignoring just how "Hallmark" this movie is. By that I mean corny and mediocre acting. I'm very surprised and was really lookingBoring, over acted and cheesy. I am a huge fan of the actors and Steven Spielberg yet I fail to see why people are ignoring just how "Hallmark" this movie is. By that I mean corny and mediocre acting. I'm very surprised and was really looking forward to seeing this film. I gave it a five and not less because of the cinematography and set design was excellent. Very disappointed in the performance of amazing actors. Seth Rogan was not a good choice for this film, it's hard not to see pineapple express or knocked up when watching him because that's the same type of character he played in this movie, the comedy relief. He did a better job in The Human Pickle portraying something other than just simple comic relief. Over all, I can't see this movie sweeping the Oscars.… Expand

2 of 2 users found this helpful20

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istanbulJan 25, 2023

I hate to say this but this movie would not be in anybody's radar, let alone the oscars, had it not been for its director. This tells you two things, first is that the movie is directed well. Second is, even with that direction, it isI hate to say this but this movie would not be in anybody's radar, let alone the oscars, had it not been for its director. This tells you two things, first is that the movie is directed well. Second is, even with that direction, it is forgettable, formulaic, and unoriginal. Much like Seth Rogen's character.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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joelgreenbergFeb 19, 2023

Having read reviews and year-end ,best of' lists, I anticipated something other than the film i saw. The Fabelmans is rare for me in that the characters and the events fail to ring true. However much the plot is tied directly to Spielberg'sHaving read reviews and year-end ,best of' lists, I anticipated something other than the film i saw. The Fabelmans is rare for me in that the characters and the events fail to ring true. However much the plot is tied directly to Spielberg's life story, the writing is clumsy, forced and oddly detached. I understand that mine is a minority opinion, but I have to wonder whether the name Spielberg has led so many critics and prize-givers to offer such excessive praise.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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Lynn58Jan 17, 2023

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Incredible movie … Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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BubbeDec 4, 2022

Not one of his best. I expected more. I realized it’s only semi-autobiographical but the whole thing didn’t ring true . I couldn’t get emotionally involved with th characters, they seemed to be two dimensional

8 of 9 users found this helpful81

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MarkHReviewsNov 27, 2022

Let’s be fair: If any filmmaker has earned the right to make an autobiography, it’s Steven Spielberg. Over the years, he’s given us films that were touchstones for two generations. So we owe him this self-indulgence.

What Spielberg andLet’s be fair: If any filmmaker has earned the right to make an autobiography, it’s Steven Spielberg. Over the years, he’s given us films that were touchstones for two generations. So we owe him this self-indulgence.

What Spielberg and Co-Writer Tony Kushner (“Angels in America”) have created is puzzling. From my perspective, the film is in three acts of widely varying lengths and equally diverse intentions. The first 75% of this film traces Spielberg’s development from his first movie experience, seeing DeMille’s “The Greatest Show on Earth,” through his adolescent movie-making. It’s ironic that the re-creation of Spielberg’s early movie-making is actually pretty dull, offering little insight into his cinematic sensibilities. During this time, the fissures in his parents’ relationship - and the ripple effects throughout the family – become apparent. When it’s not being depressing or sad, this section of the film is remote and emotionally distant, apparently because of Spielberg’s tortured attempt not to take one parent’s side in the conflict.

Act Two explores Spielberg’s move to Northern California and his experiences in a high school which was apparently heavily populated by very tall Aryan males. We discover that his first girlfriend is a devout Christian (her wall is a shrine dedicated equally to Jesus, Fabian and Bobby Rydell) who hopes to save his soul. She also has apparent difficulty conflating religious fervor and sexual arousal. This section of the film is just as impressionistic as Act One, but the colors are brighter and the tone is light, if not frivolous.

Act Three lasts only a few minutes. In torment, Spielberg’s character has decided to drop out of college to pursue his dream. Along the way, he’s given a five-minute audience with Director John Ford, who offers weighty utterances about cinematic technique through vast clouds of cigar smoke. This causes our protagonist to stride happily, optimistically into the sunset for no apparent reason.

Along the way, Spielberg and Kushner offer some alternative theories about Spielberg’s passion for filmmaking. For Spielberg, is filmmaking a way to control and make meaning of the chaos around him? Possibly. Could making movies be a buffer and an escape from family tension as his parents’ marriage disintegrates? Maybe. Could making films offer an antidote for personal loneliness? Could be. Was moviemaking simply a way for Spielberg to find his place in the confusing social landscape of childhood and adolescence? Kinda. Does he enjoy playing God, deciding the winners and losers in his narratives? Perhaps. The most frustrating element of this film is that Spielberg seems more perplexed about the events around him and his own motivations than he has ever been when filming his iconic characters. But then, maybe that’s the way it is with humans. When we’re the subject of the conversation, it always messier. At the end of the day, life is apparently just as confusing for Spielberg as it is for the rest of us.… Expand

2 of 4 users found this helpful22

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tonysaidJan 23, 2023

This movie is exactly what you would expect. If that is what you are hoping for you may rate it higher. I would not watch this more than once.

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

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Mauro_LanariMar 9, 2023

(Mauro Lanari)
Poor little one: he suffered from family breakup and anti-Semitic bullying, reminding us of this in almost every film of his. Woody Allen reacted completely differently and it was better that way. A very pedantic testamentary(Mauro Lanari)
Poor little one: he suffered from family breakup and anti-Semitic bullying, reminding us of this in almost every film of his. Woody Allen reacted completely differently and it was better that way. A very pedantic testamentary hagiography so fashionable in recent years: little to say, badly said and addressed to fanatics of the 7th art, reviewers and not. "When the horizon's in the middle, it's boring as **** another well-deserved maxiflop for self-fulfilling prophecy.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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