74
Metascore
25 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 91Entertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumEntertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumAmir Bar-Lev's engrossing film is as much about the stubborn ambiguities of art, truth, meaning, and relationships as it is about the authenticity of the Olmstead oeuvre.
- 91The A.V. ClubNoel MurrayThe A.V. ClubNoel MurrayWhen others can't see what parents see, there's an inescapable ache. As much as anything, My Kid Could Paint That is about that ache.
- 90Film ThreatFilm ThreatAside from being a captivating and highly interesting film, Bar-Lev's My Kid Could Paint That is also something extremely rare – a piece of honest journalism.
- 88TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonaghTV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonaghBar-Lev also explores the freakish popular appeal of child prodigies, the family dynamics that come into play when a child's celebrity and earning capacity overshadows the adults', and the remarkably conflicted and contradictory admissions drawn from Brunelli about Marla's work.
- 75New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanNew York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanEveryone involved, from Marla's defensive parents to the cynical journalists who promoted and then turned on her, seems to have some sort of agenda.
- 70VarietyDennis HarveyVarietyDennis HarveyThe popular human-interest story of a child prodigy becomes an engrossing meditation on truth, media exploitation and the value of art in My Kid Could Paint That.
- 70Village VoiceVillage VoiceWhat began as a human-interest story for filmmaker Amir Bar-Lev led down stranger paths than the Duchampian conundrums of modern art.
- 63New York PostKyle SmithNew York PostKyle SmithStruggles to maintain a sober, evenhanded tone about an utterly ridiculous story.
- 50Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranLos Angeles TimesKenneth TuranThe longer it goes, the more frustrating it becomes, as Bar Lev declines to come down on one side or the other.
- 50The New York TimesA.O. ScottThe New York TimesA.O. ScottMr. Bar-Lev has made an excellent documentary, but it would have been better if he had not made it at all.