72
Metascore
17 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 83The PlaylistChris BarsantiThe PlaylistChris BarsantiThe movie does not stint on Belushi’s destructive, self-sabotaging, and cruel habits.
- 80The Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckThe Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckHome movie footage shot by Judy during a period of Belushi's sobriety at the couple's summer home in Martha's Vineyard provides a poignant glimpse of the normal life he could have lived. That his early loss left so much potentially great work undone makes the documentary as much elegy as tribute.
- 80VarietyOwen GleibermanVarietyOwen GleibermanIn the film, Belushi’s own letters betray his fear that he had reached the point of no return. Yet there can be a shadow hint of intentionality to all that. Belushi was a bighearted person who craved no limits. In some terrible way, he went out like the rock star he was.
- 78Austin ChronicleRichard WhittakerAustin ChronicleRichard WhittakerIt's challenging not to see shades of Robin Williams, who was not just Belushi's equal in talent and predilection for pharmaceuticals but also his friend. Williams admitted more than once that it was Belushi's death that made him get sober, the ultimate wake-up call.
- 75Boston GlobeTy BurrBoston GlobeTy BurrBelushi was at his best when he was allowed to build, moving from soft-spoken sanity to a maelstrom of fury over the course of a two-minute sketch. We get the infamous Joe Cocker impression, flailing away next to the real thing; we’re reminded of his truly remarkable skills as a physical comedian; and we get most of my favorite skit, the “Little Chocolate Donuts” ad. But a full measure of the man’s art (and it was art) is missing.
- 72TheWrapSteve PondTheWrapSteve PondIf it starts out to be a biography of Belushi the performer, it ends up as the cautionary tale of Belushi the human being.
- 67The Film StageMatt CipollaThe Film StageMatt CipollaFor a look at the life of John Belushi, it’s a fittingly brisk one. For a dive into his career, it’s one that, despite a general lack of originality, mines a few solid points.
- 60Wall Street JournalJohn AndersonWall Street JournalJohn AndersonBeing a person who grew up with him as a live cultural presence, I’m a highly biased fan of the man. Still, like its subject, “Belushi” is sometimes simply too much.
- 50RogerEbert.comPeter SobczynskiRogerEbert.comPeter SobczynskiSomeday, there will be a take on the life and work of John Belushi that is as fascinating, complex, and entertaining as he was. Belushi, however, is not quite that film.