Me and Orson Welles

Christian Science Monitor Peter Rainer

One of the sweetest and most heartfelt movies ever made about a life in the theater.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

The impersonation of Welles by Christian McKay in Me and Orson Welles is the centerpiece of the film, and from it, all else flows. We can almost accept that this is the Great Man.

San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle

Christian McKay who, as Orson Welles in Me and Orson Welles"gives what I believe is the most exact and uncanny screen portrayal of an historical figure, ever.

The New York Times A.O. Scott

Art is a fairy tale we choose to believe in, and this movie, a fiction confected about real people, is too good not to be true.

Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips

A real charmer, Me and Orson Welles is the work of a director who takes nostalgia, romantic possibility and the theater seriously, without being a pill about it.

Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea

Linklater's film adaptation succeeds in bringing the flamboyant Welles to life.

Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy

A thoroughly credible and deeply entertaining biopic about a titanically famous film personality.

Empire Kim Newman

A really satisfying backstage drama, this is an exhilarating tour around a man whose talent was almost as big as his ego.

The New Yorker David Denby

This is a movie of great spirit and considerable charm. It’s about the giddiness of promise--the awakening of young talent, after years of the Depression, to a moment when anything seems possible.

Austin Chronicle Kimberley Jones

Linklater has crafted an always genial and at times even joyful period charmer about that moment on the cusp: before a boy becomes a man and another man becomes a mythological figure.

Washington Post Michael O'Sullivan

In addition to McKay, Danes makes a sassy, sexy Sonja. And Efron more than gets by in his role as the sweet, plucky, starstruck newbie. It's a part that doesn't require much heavy lifting, though.

Boston Globe Ty Burr

The British actor Christian McKay resurrects the young Welles as a magnificent mountain of talent, ego, and unsliced ham. He, and he alone, is reason enough to see this movie. The problem is the “Me’’ - Zac Efron.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Liam Lacey

The very name Orson Welles stands for genius wasted and betrayed, and the movie offers some foreshadowing of his triumphs and failures to come.

New York Post Lou Lumenick

Me and Orson Welles is, in effect, a sequel to Tim Robbins' star-filled, self-important film about "Cradle," but it's far lighter on its feet.

ReelViews James Berardinelli

Designed primarily for those who are intrigued by theater, curious about Welles, or some combination of both.

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

What do you say about a movie that proves Zac Efron can act, introduces a master thespian in Christian McKay and launches a charm assault that is damn near irresistible? I say, see it.

The Hollywood Reporter Kirk Honeycutt

Christian McKay's impersonation of young Orson Welles is sensational in this enjoyable, though slight, historical fiction about a teen who spends a memorable week with the legendary wonder.

Variety Todd McCarthy

There are moments, especially when Welles is alternating between acting as Brutus and directing everyone else, that it’s possible to forget you’re watching an actor and really believe you’re beholding Orson Welles at work.

Village Voice J. Hoberman

Deft, affectionate, and unexpectedly enjoyable.

Los Angeles Times Betsy Sharkey

McKay, a British stage actor who was doing an off-Broadway production about the movie legend when casting started, and Danes, whose acting always seems so effortlessly good, are the best things about the film.

Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek

A sweet, modest snapshot of a long-lost time when a bold kid with a showbiz dream and a little luck could actually get somewhere, and if he could sing and dance to boot, his chances of success would be even greater. Zac Efron fits right into 1937; in 2009, he's a lost boy.

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

Has so little fire that Welles himself would have wondered out loud what he was doing stuck in the middle of it.

Premiere Michael Mariani

A lightweight but sincere coming-of-age story.

USA Today Claudia Puig

McKay's performance is a revelation. He nails Welles' imperiousness, charm and vocal cadences, and even bears a strong resemblance to the iconic actor/director. He is thoroughly convincing as Welles and electrifies the screen when he's on it.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch Joe Williams

The difference between McKay and Efron is like the difference between a Broadway spectacular and a high school musical.

New Orleans Times-Picayune Mike Scott

The result is an often-screwball jaunt that isn't without its fun moments.

Time Out New York Joshua Rothkopf

Maybe this is a good time to mention that the director is Richard Linklater, usually a lot more versatile. Try to imagine a version of Linklater’s "School of Rock" that didn’t pivot on the manic music teacher played by Jack Black but instead, perhaps, on his boring roommate.

New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman

Surprisingly conventional by director Richard Linklater's standards, this pleasant, low-key dramedy is most memorable for the discovery of co-star Christian McKay.

Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern

Mr. McKay is in his mid-30s, and doesn't conceal it, so what's the point? By taking the KIND out of WUNERKIND, the movie also removes the WUNDER.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Nathan Rabin

Efron has yet to learn that smiling pretty is merely a component of acting, not its entirety. He makes for a supremely passive lead whose chemistry with Danes is nonexistent.