85
Metascore
11 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertI can't single out a performance. This is a superb ensemble, conveying hat joy actors feel when hey know they're good in good material. This is not a traditional feature, but it's one of Spike Lee's best films.
- 91The A.V. ClubNoel MurrayThe A.V. ClubNoel MurrayLee doesn’t exactly reinvent the wheel when it comes to filming live theater, but he moves the camera artfully and edits with an energy that matches the music.
- 90The Hollywood ReporterThe Hollywood ReporterIn directing the film, Lee allows the show's inherent vitality to carry the doc, relying on Stew's charismatic stage presence, the cast's absorbing performances and the production's effective combination of minimal staging and impressive lighting design to convey the musical's energetic celebration of artistic discovery.
- 90Village VoiceVillage VoicePassing Strange conjures a rare kind of theatrical magic with its emotionally raw, frequently euphoric portrait of the artist as a young man.
- 90The New York TimesA.O. ScottThe New York TimesA.O. ScottA show not simply preserved by Mr. Lee’s camera, but brought, somehow, to its fullest, strangest, most electrifying realization.
- 80New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinNew York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinThe cutting is hyperkinetic, yet Lee is always in synch with the cast’s phenomenal energy. He’s in their thrall--and so are we.
- 80VarietyDennis HarveyVarietyDennis HarveyThis first-rate multicamera transcript of a terrific show should delight musical fans (and many who think they aren't) as a niche broadcast item.
- 80Time OutStephen GarrettTime OutStephen GarrettRousing, devastating, invigorating, painful, joyful, soulful--all those adjectives don’t even begin to describe Passing Strange, but it’s a start.
- 75New York PostLou LumenickNew York PostLou LumenickBasically canned musical theater, but this is one Tony-winning Broadway show that's well worth preserving and seeing.
- 60New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanNew York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanThe beginning is awkwardly earnest, but the play matures considerably while retaining its youthful energy and enthusiasm