60
Metascore
11 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 75Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerChristian Science MonitorPeter RainerThe best commentator is Alda, whose rueful memories of being raised as a boy in burlesque are the film's highlight. "It was a form of abuse," he says of those days, but without rancor. It was, after all, the only childhood he knew.
- 70Village VoiceVillage VoiceLeslie Zemeckis's slightly ramshackle but utterly entertaining Behind the Burly Q is a painstakingly researched love letter to the women and men who once made up the community of burlesque performers.
- 70VarietyRonnie ScheibVarietyRonnie ScheibThe women's outspoken commentaries prove consistently colorful and their long-ago stripteases -- feathers flying, tassels spinning -- still pack a sensual, sassy, what-the-hell punch.
- 70The New York TimesManohla DargisThe New York TimesManohla DargisA charming, uncritical, often entertaining jumble, the documentary was written and directed by Leslie Zemeckis.
- 60NPRBob MondelloNPRBob MondelloBehind the Burly Q traces that history all the way back to the early part of the 20th century, but doesn't really come into its own until Zemeckis can interview the stars themselves rather than their children.
- 60New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanNew York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanThe real stars of this film are the same ones who stole every show -- women who once boasted names like Tempest Storm, Candy Cotton and Lady Midnight. Their stories are alternately tragic and inspiring, and often very funny.
- 60The Hollywood ReporterThe Hollywood ReporterA love note to '30s-era burlesque that plays best for those already invested enough in the milieu to hang on every word of aged strippers.
- 50Boxoffice MagazineSara SchieronBoxoffice MagazineSara SchieronThis doc contributes to the small collection of films on burlesque something more self-aware looks at the matter don't: an exposition of the messy history of a complex popular art that still leaves us with much to explore.
- 50Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertYou hear some nostalgia, but with most of them you don't get the idea that if they had the chance they'd do it all again.