47
Metascore
9 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 80Los Angeles TimesKevin ThomasLos Angeles TimesKevin ThomasTwelve years in the making, Phyllis and Harold has extraordinary breadth and depth and has been made with wit, compassion and imagination, and it reflects the complexity of life itself.
- 75Boston GlobeWesley MorrisBoston GlobeWesley MorrisPhyllis and Harold is really about Phyllis and how discontent has a way of spilling, then spreading. Kleine never quite says so, but her mother’s life was a tragedy.
- 60VarietyRonnie ScheibVarietyRonnie ScheibEvocatively fleshed out with surprisingly iconic homemovies, passionate love letters and well-chosen pop tunes, Kleine's homegrown Jewish "Madame Bovary" escapes the navel-gazing boundaries of the personal-diary docu by the sheer force of its evocation of bygone sensuality.
- 60Time OutS. James SnyderTime OutS. James SnyderKleine forgoes good-old-days nostalgia in an effort to examine a generation that braved the new America sans a rule book. But it’s the central mystery of Cindy’s own life--did Phyllis ever love Harold?--that turns this sociological examination into something profoundly personal.
- 50Village VoiceVillage VoiceWhat's interesting about the filmmaker's rummage through her parents' conjugal closet--another in a thriving sub-genre of domestic-turmoil docs as told by their spawn--is the abyss between the husband and wife's points of view.
- 50The Hollywood ReporterThe Hollywood ReporterFortunately, Lisa Crafts' colorful animation intermittently brings welcome charm and life to this otherwise dreary tale.
- 40The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisThe New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisThe problem with these my-family-was-messed-up-and-I need-to-share projects is that they require an audience of complete strangers to give a damn. And while we sometimes do, it’s usually because the material is inherently compelling (“Tarnation”) or the filmmaking uncovers truths beyond the template of family therapy (“51 Birch Street”). Sadly, Phyllis and Harold fulfills neither requirement.
- 40New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierNew York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierEngrossing, sad and heartbreaking.
- 25New York PostV.A. MusettoNew York PostV.A. MusettoMy only question: Why does Kleine -- who's married to Andre Gregory of "My Dinner With Andre" fame -- think that anybody outside her family gives a damn?