79
Metascore
8 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 88RogerEbert.comMatt Zoller SeitzRogerEbert.comMatt Zoller SeitzThe uncanny confidence of Dick Gregory comes through from the opening minutes of The One and Only Dick Gregory, and he only becomes more formidable as the film unfolds.
- 88Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperChicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperThe One and Only Dick Gregory is a comprehensive biography of a mercurial, brilliant and wildly funny artist-activist.
- 80Wall Street JournalJohn AndersonWall Street JournalJohn AndersonMr. Gaines occasionally loses confidence in his audience—the parallels that can be drawn between Gregory’s times and now are pretty obvious and don’t really need the punctuation. Most of the time, though, The One and Only Dick Gregory is a memorable portrait, of someone whose story deserves to be better remembered.
- 80CNNBrian LowryCNNBrian LowryThe One and Only Dick Gregory highlights Gregory's particular knack for getting people to laugh with him, and more significantly, the sacrifices he made in pursuit of greater objectives than the roar of a crowd and that nightly paycheck.
- 80Los Angeles TimesRobert LloydLos Angeles TimesRobert LloydWhat Gaines does not miss is Gregory’s spirit, and its effect — amusing, bemusing, inspiring — on the world around him.
- 70The New York TimesJason ZinomanThe New York TimesJason ZinomanBy covering so much ground, it doesn’t have room to dig too deep. But along with some very funny footage of a master of his craft, it offers a convincing argument that while Gregory became famous for his comedy, what made him such a riveting cultural figure is what he did after he left it behind.
- 63Washington PostMichael O'SullivanWashington PostMichael O'SullivanThe film’s title is apt: Gregory was one of a kind. But despite the film’s argument that its subject’s activism was part and parcel of his comedy, and not an afterthought, it’s the jokes that are given short shrift here. One wishes there might have been room for a few more of them.