64
Metascore
18 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 75NPRElla TaylorNPRElla TaylorThat she continues to invite not just Beyoncé and Katy Perry but millions of adoring men and women along for the ride is icing on the cake.
- 75New York PostSara StewartNew York PostSara StewartIn one of Hugh Hefner’s least creepy moments ever, he describes how they became friends later in life; with his help, she finally obtained the legal rights to her rampantly used image.
- 70Village VoiceStephanie ZacharekVillage VoiceStephanie ZacharekMori — director of the 1991 documentary Building Bombs — assembles the information here with clarity and sensitivity.
- 63RogerEbert.comSheila O'MalleyRogerEbert.comSheila O'MalleyShe is an engaging guide, humorous and honest, cynical and wise, with that same sense of innocent joy in her own fame that translated into in photos.
- 60VarietyDennis HarveyVarietyDennis HarveyIt has a somewhat routine midlevel-cable-production feel. But the content is engaging, and the use of old movie clips to illustrate biographical details... is amusing.
- 60New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanNew York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanWhy does the movie waste so much time on empty adoration from celebrity fans and skim past the significant tragedies that contributed to her complex life? Parental neglect, sexual assault, severe mental illness — all of these factors shaped the woman Page became. But perhaps even today, no one wants to consider the sadness behind her 1,000-watt smile.
- 60The New York TimesManohla DargisThe New York TimesManohla DargisNo life is seamless, and not every biographical portrait needs to be, but this one is so riddled with awkward transitions, including on the soundtrack, that it tends to lurch distractingly, as if Mr. Mori were still trying to figure out how to piece the whole thing together.
- 60The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeThe Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForePage's no-regrets spirit and the enraptured testimonials from those who knew her in her prime (including some swooning ex-lovers) overpowers clumsy filmmaking.
- This film has all of the pieces to be a great and thorough documentary (a cult turned popular subject, new and old footage, interviews with admirers, friends and colleagues, authorization by the lady herself), but misses the mark.
- 50Slant MagazineKenji FujishimaSlant MagazineKenji FujishimaMark Mori goes a bit overboard in hammering home his appreciation of Bettie Page's significance, allowing the film to occasionally lapse into repetitiveness.