51
Metascore
19 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 75Washington PostMichael O'SullivanWashington PostMichael O'SullivanLive From New York! is a fun, not academic walk down memory lane.
- 67The A.V. ClubJesse HassengerThe A.V. ClubJesse HassengerOf course, a single documentary can’t cover everything, but this one’s slim but entertaining 80 minutes suggests that Nguyen erred on the side of brevity.
- 63New York PostKyle SmithNew York PostKyle SmithDon’t expect the real dirt on “Saturday Night Live” from the doc Live From New York! The movie is fun, but it’s a cinematic coffee-table book.
- 50The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeThe Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeDirector Bao Nguyen doesn't try to dig too deep, leaving serious behind-the-scenes lore to the SNL obsessives who've been poring over backstage accounts for years. Focusing on talking heads, almost all of whom say nice things about their experience of the show, he offers a puffy remembrance just a couple of notches more substantive than the supplemental doc in a DVD box set.
- 50Screen DailyFionnuala HalliganScreen DailyFionnuala HalliganNguyen’s documentary certainly leaves the viewer wanting more.
- 50VarietyRonnie ScheibVarietyRonnie ScheibLive From New York! registers as simultaneously too outsider and too insider — a perfect definition of mainstream media itself.
- 50Slant MagazineNick PriggeSlant MagazineNick PriggeFormally, it relies on a bevy of spectacularly funny clips and a plethora of talking heads, most of which fall back on plaudits rather than sage insights.
- 50Village VoiceAlan ScherstuhlVillage VoiceAlan ScherstuhlFortunately, Live From New York! isn't all overblown hagiography.
- 50Austin ChronicleKimberley JonesAustin ChronicleKimberley JonesSize matters, too, in Live From New York!, a portrait of SNL at 40, but in inverse: 82 minutes isn’t nearly long enough to consider every angle – or even many angles – of a cultural institution.
- 50The DissolveMike D'AngeloThe DissolveMike D'AngeloGiven the wealth of possibilities, this doc’s superficial, exceedingly polite approach is a big disappointment.