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Cool School, The

Generally favorable reviews
Based on 9 critic reviews
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Based on 0 votes
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Movie Info
Genre(s): Documentary
Written by:
Directed by: Morgan Neville
Release Date:
Theatrical: March 28, 2008
DVD: July 29, 2008
Running Time: 86 minutes, Color
Origin: USA
Summary
RATING: Not Rated
Starring Jeff Bridges, Dennis Hopper, Frank Gehry, Ed Ruscha, John Baldessari, Billy Al Bengston, Ed Kienholz, and Irving Blum
The Cool School is the story of American art in the 1950s and '60s, LA's coming of age, and a distinctive, fraternal group of headstrong talents. The renowned Ferus Art Gallery groomed certain members of the LA art scene from a loose band of idealistic beatniks into a coterie of competitive, often-brilliant artists. What was lost and gained is tied up in complex web of egos, passions, money, and art. The Cool School is about San Francisco versus LA, New York versus LA, commercialism, and bohemianism. Ferus managed to do for art in LA what the museums would not; the gallery gave birth to a vibrant, coalescing scene. Assemblage art, abstract expressionism, or Pop--the men of Ferus shared ideas, goals, studios, women, and a vision. The Cool School is an extraordinary lesson in how a city can build an art scene from scratch without losing its soul. (Tremolo Productions)
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum
The rare footage of '50s and '60s L.A. alone is a treasure; the City of Angels has rarely looked so hip. Bonus: cool music from the likes of Charles Mingus and the Velvet Underground.
Read Full Review >TV Guide Ken Fox
Happily, many of the figures spoken about throughout the film are still with us -- Neville is even able to reproduce Patricia Foure's famous group photo with most of its original subjects.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Chronicle Kenneth Baker
Takes its title from an early Artforum article that described the sleek aesthetic of the then-new Southern California art.
Read Full Review >The Hollywood Reporter Sheri Linden
Documentarian Morgan Neville has fashioned a spirited riposte to the groundless cliche that Los Angeles is a cultural wasteland.
Read Full Review >Variety John Anderson
What The Cool School does so well, through its color accents and black-and-white photography, through the kinetic music that propels Jeff Bridges' narration by and the unorthodox attitude that reflects the artists themselves, is impart a sense of discovery.
Read Full Review >New York Post Lou Lumenick
Filmed largely in black and white, The Cool School includes interviews with one of the gallery's founders, Ed Kienholz, as well as with Dennis Hopper, Dean Stockwell and architect Frank Gehry.
Read Full Review >The New York Times Manohla Dargis
The Cool School, is, well, cool, but it’s also fairly parochial.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader J.R. Jones
The cultural cock-strutting gets to be a bit much, but Neville handily captures the excitement of an art scene percolating, breaking wide open, and finally burning itself out.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 0.0 (out of 10) based on 0 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
