81
Metascore
10 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100IndieWireChristian BlauveltIndieWireChristian BlauveltLane set out to make a documentary about the nature of taste, and she’s accomplished that with panache.
- 95Paste MagazinePaste MagazineSince Kenneth Gorelick isn’t actually interested in being separated from Kenny G, Lane’s real task becomes imbuing the aggregate with some stakes. And she crushes it: Listening to Kenny G gives you all your need-to-knows so that you can take or leave the titular musician as you see fit.
- 88The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Brad WheelerThe Globe and Mail (Toronto)Brad WheelerEven if you’d rather die than be trapped in a broken elevator with endless Kenny G music, Lane’s excellent accomplishment is making 97 minutes about the musician so much smart fun.
- 83The Film StageJared MobarakThe Film StageJared Mobarak[Lane] proves yet again that nobody can tonally marry edification and entertainment onscreen so effortlessly. It’s masterful.
- 80VarietyPeter DebrugeVarietyPeter DebrugeRuthlessly entertaining ... Lane is a master archive digger, unearthing priceless artifacts, some damning, others endearing.
- 80The New York TimesGlenn KennyThe New York TimesGlenn KennyAs a music industry story, Kenny G’s rise, engineered by the mogul Clive Davis but at times bucked by the artist himself, is fascinating.
- 76TheWrapSteve PondTheWrapSteve PondIt’s a very entertaining trip, but it doesn’t really go anywhere: If you go in loving Kenny G you’ll come out that way, and if you go in hating him you won’t change your mind.
- 75ConsequenceClint WorthingtonConsequenceClint WorthingtonIt’s doubtful that die-hard Kenny haters will come away with a new understanding of or appreciation for the man. But for those curious about where he came from and those who want to consider why his beloved status rubs so many people the wrong way, there’s a lot to like.
- 75RogerEbert.comMatt Zoller SeitzRogerEbert.comMatt Zoller SeitzThere are points early in this documentary where you might wonder if it really needed to be a feature (one can imagine a cut-down "60 Minutes" piece doing the job just as effectively) but when Lane gets away from the man himself and focuses on the details of the business of music, a new frontier of understanding opens up.
- 70The New YorkerRichard BrodyThe New YorkerRichard BrodyListening to Kenny G subtly and surely teases out the mighty and overarching idea of the inseparability of the artist and the art, the notion of art as the embodiment of the artist’s personality—for better or for worse.