Coastal Elites
  • Network: HBO
  • Series Premiere Date: Sep 12, 2020
Metascore
57

Mixed or average reviews - based on 20 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 20
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 20
  3. Negative: 3 out of 20

Critic Reviews

  1. Sioux City Journal
    Reviewed by: Bruce Miller
    Sep 14, 2020
    80
    “Coastal Elites” is a powerful 90 minutes with five actors who know how to make each moment count. You may not agree with the political points some espouse, but you will respect the heart that’s behind them.
  2. Decider
    Reviewed by: John Serba
    Sep 14, 2020
    80
    Coastal Elites offers enough talent, laughs, pathos and outright venting to warrant watching it.
  3. CNN
    Reviewed by: Brian Lowry
    Sep 10, 2020
    80
    Coastal Elites wears its heart on its political sleeve, and the disdain for President Trump and all that he represents in this HBO special is searing and palpable. Yet while the five monologues presented don't seek to convert anyone, they do encapsulate the rage and confusion Trump's election unleashed within the zip codes that conservatives dismiss, while elevating shot-during-quarantine TV to new heights.
  5. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Matthew Gilbert
    Sep 10, 2020
    80
    There is artistry to savor in “Coastal Elites,” as the actors surf on Rudnick’s script, which spends just enough time with each of them and which contains a number of clever punchlines. ... Each of the actors holds attention expertly, ranging through emotions seamlessly, with Roach making only a few cuts within each monologue.
  6. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Amy Nicholson
    Sep 10, 2020
    80
    Clever, spartan stories.
  7. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Michael Phillips
    Sep 8, 2020
    75
    Even in the more uneven and discursive monologues, the performers take care of business. ... It is very difficult, however, to make such politically toxic recent history work as comic truth with a serious dimension. “Coastal Elites” manages it just enough.
  8. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Dennis Perkins
    Sep 4, 2020
    75
    The special’s true value as a showcase for a handful of terrifically shaded performances gradually emerges through the occasional overwritten staginess. Still, the relentless march of five separate monologues all about the maddeningly implacable evils each character faces in this America of COVID and Trump is, as stated, a lot to take in in one sitting.
  9. TV Guide Magazine
    Reviewed by: Matt Roush
    Aug 28, 2020
    70
    With a stellar cast of four current Emmy nominees and a past winner, in performances shot in quarantine, these hysterical if uneven showcases have the impact of soul-bearing catharsis. [31 Aug - 13 Sep 2020, p.7]
    All this critic's reviews

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
2.1

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 10 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 10
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 10
  3. Negative: 7 out of 10
  1. NavyBean
    Sep 12, 2020
    0
    unfunny, pat yourself on the back, echo chamber bs. Like the guy making Orange Julius jokes about the mall. Been done better. Been doneunfunny, pat yourself on the back, echo chamber bs. Like the guy making Orange Julius jokes about the mall. Been done better. Been done funnier. The louder you shout, the less I listen. Nothing new. Not worth the time. Twitter is more fun.… Full Review »
  2. TVJerry
    Sep 14, 2020
    6
    This is one of the first major shows shot social distanced. Each actor is in a solo environment, as they perform a monologue about how theThis is one of the first major shows shot social distanced. Each actor is in a solo environment, as they perform a monologue about how the Trump Administration has affected their lives. It starts with Bette Midler, who’s in classic comic form, which is amplified by writer Paul Rudnick, who’s at his best satirical style. The rest lack the humor, but embrace emotional responses. Dan Levy deals with being an out gay actor, Issa Rae encounters her prep school classmate, Sarah Paulson copes with her MAGA family and Kaitlyn Dever plays a nurse coping with COVID. It helps that accomplished director Jay Roach has created simple sestups to allow the actors to shine. Overall, this is a self-important screed decrying our current situation with well-worn political points. It’s a sincere effort at embodying liberal responses to our current social situation for an audience of the already-converted.… Full Review »
See all user reviews »