Advanced Search >
Help Me Search

Movies

Weekend Box Office
Film Awards & Top 10s By Year
All-Time High Scores
All-Time Low Scores

Wide Releases
Now In Theaters

sort by namesort by score

Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

Limited Releases
Now In Theaters

sort by namesort by score

58 (Untitled)
96 35 Shots of Rum
56 Adam
72 Adela
39 Adventures of Power
78 Afghan Star
61 After the Storm
66 Afterschool
xx All the Best
58 American Casino
72 Amreeka
48 Antichrist
73 Araya
62 Art & Copy
55 As Seen Through These Eyes
76 Baader Meinhof Complex, The
86 Beaches of Agnes, The
13 Beautiful Life, A
70 Beeswax
35 Beyond a Reasonable Doubt
71 Big Fan
66 Black Dynamite
51 Blind Date
xx Blind Pig Who Wants to Fly
76 Bliss
35 Blue Tooth Virgin, The
26 Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day, The
57 Boys Are Back, The
45 Brief Interviews with Hideous Men
81 Bright Star
70 Bronson
45 Burning Plain, The
xx Carriers
55 Casi Divas
57 Chelsea on the Rocks
62 Cloud 9
65 Coco Before Chanel
69 Cold Souls
59 Collapse
44 Confessionsofa Ex-Doofus-ItchyFooted Mutha
82 Cove, The
75 Crude
82 Damned United, The
67 Departures
xx Dil Bole Hadippa
71 Disgrace
xx Do Knot Disturb
70 Earth Days
24 Eating Out 3: All You Can Eat
85 Education, An
55 Endgame
xx Eulogy for a Vampire
xx Everyone Else
xx Fatal Promises
56 Fifty Dead Men Walking
62 Five Minutes of Heaven
74 Flame & Citron
49 Food Beware: The French Organic Revolution
80 Food, Inc.
28 Free Style
xx From Mexico with Love
50 Fuel
25 Gentlemen Broncos
50 Give Me Your Hand
58 Gogol Bordello Non-Stop
72 Good Hair
89 Goodbye Solo
52 Grace
66 Harmony and Me
81 Headless Woman, The
xx Heretics, The
63 Horse Boy, The
73 House of the Devil, The
xx How to Seduce Difficult Women
74 Humpday
94 Hurt Locker, The
29 I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell
16 If One Thing Matters: A Film About Wolfgang Tillmans
75 In Search of Beethoven
83 In the Loop
61 Intimate Enemies
42 Irene in Time
70 It Might Get Loud
46 Killing Kasztner
19 Labor Day
xx Laila's Birthday
41 Little Ashes
41 Little Traitor, The
66 Liverpool
34 Looking for Palladin
80 Lorna's Silence
83 Maid, The
xx Ministers, The
59 More Than a Game
67 Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers, The
34 Motherhood
62 My One and Only
xx Mystery Team
48 New York, I Love You
73 Night and Day
66 No Impact Man
47 Ong Bak 2: The Beginning
34 Other Man, The
xx Painter Sam Francis, The
54 Paper Heart
xx Paradise
68 Paranormal Activity
68 Paris
44 Peter and Vandy
35 Play the Game
77 Precious: Based on the Novel by Sapphire
xx Pretty Ugly People
65 Providence Effect, The
76 Rembrandt's J'accuse
69 September Issue, The
79 Serious Man, A
40 Shrink
61 Skin
77 Skin Too Few: The Days of Nick Drake, A
xx Skiptracers
46 Splinterheads
39 St. Trinian's
89 Still Walking
50 Stoning of Soraya M., The
55 Storm
65 Tetro
70 That Evening Sun
72 Thirst
xx Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas 3D (re-release)
61 Trucker
xx Turning Green
83 U2 3D
66 Unmade Beds
66 Unmistaken Child
70 Visual Acoustics
55 Walt & El Grupo
67 Way We Get By, The
69 We Live in Public
64 Wedding Song, The
64 Where is Where?
xx White on Rice
74 Woman in Berlin, A
69 World's Greatest Dad
70 Yes Men Fix the World
69 Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg
xx You, the Living

Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

New York Doll

EMAILPRINTFirst Independent Pictures

New York Doll reviews
72
8.6 User Score:

Generally favorable reviews

Based on 17 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 13 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >

Movie Info

Genre(s): Documentary  |  Musical

Written by:

Directed by: Greg Whiteley

Release Date:
Theatrical: October 28, 2005
DVD: April 4, 2006

Running Time: 77 minutes, Color

Origin: USA

Summary

RATING: PG-13 for drug content

Starring David Johansen, Arthur Kane, and Sylvain Sylvain

New York Doll is a film that captures one of those rare occasions where life is not only stranger, but better than fiction. This documentary chronicles the extraordinary journey of Arthur "Killer" Kane to reunite with his bandmates. (First Independent Pictures)

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...

88

TV Guide Ken Fox

This might be the only documentary that will appeal to punks and Mormons alike.

Read Full Review >
88

Boston Globe Ty Burr

You're left with the bewilderment and joy on Kane's face as he plays the old songs, and the sense of ghosts just behind his back.

Read Full Review >
83

Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy

So rich, moving and surprising that a familiar story starts to feel new again. The details, the personalities and the final twist grab you until you're left truly shaken and inspired.

Read Full Review >
80

LA Weekly F. X. Feeney

Overall, Whitely's debut film may just fill you with an unexpectedly deep elation.

Read Full Review >
80

Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan

Though it is small in scale and lasts only 78 minutes, New York Doll, like any documentary, goes places we expect it to and places we do not. As journeys go, this is one to treasure.

Read Full Review >
75

New York Post Lou Lumenick

Kane was nicknamed "Killer" because of his playing style -- and New York Doll has a killer surprise ending that may leave even hard-core punkers reaching for the Kleenex.

Read Full Review >
75

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

This makes for a modestly touching journey, but New York Doll, in its wafer-thin way, is an oxymoron: a hagiographic tribute to a rocker with more passion than talent.

Read Full Review >
70

Salon.com Andrew O'Hehir

As sad stories go, this is a happy one.

Read Full Review >
70

Dallas Observer Robert Wilonsky

No matter how well you think you know this tale, you do not know it at all. It offers the oldest clichés polished up like some brand-new thing by director Greg Whiteley.

Read Full Review >
70

The New York Times Stephen Holden

Greg Whiteley's small, tender documentary portrait New York Doll looks at life after rock 'n' roll as experienced by Arthur (Killer) Kane, the original bassist for the legendary glam-punk band the New York Dolls.

Read Full Review >
70

The Hollywood Reporter Sheri Linden

A tender take on life after stardom.

Read Full Review >
70

Variety Dennis Harvey

A charmer whose lack of profane language or images renders it unexpectedly viable for general broadcast.

Read Full Review >
70

The Onion (A.V. Club) Nathan Rabin

Unexpectedly heartwarming documentary.

Read Full Review >
70

Village Voice Robert Christgau

In the end, this is less a film about a rock and roller than a film about a Mormon. And Napoleon Dynamite it ain't.

Read Full Review >
63

New York Daily News Jami Bernard

The film paints an affectionate portrait of a wry, somewhat addled man whose hard-partying past was in stark contrast with his later life - a fluffy cat nestles in his guitar case while he explains his nickname.

Read Full Review >
60

Empire Anna Smith

A fascinating portrait of a broken rock star picking up the pieces, this misses a few tricks but still entertains.

Read Full Review >
60

Film Threat Pete Vonder Haar

Overall, New York Doll is an affectionate (occasionally too much so) look at Arthur Kane.

Read Full Review >

What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this movie is 8.6 (out of 10) based on 13 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Christopher J. gave it a7:
An interesting film, especially for the LDS community. I was excited to see how the faded rock star would react to a temporary resurrection of his old, gaudy culture. I wasn't blown away, but I was satisfied.

Nancy W. gave it a10:
Truth is stranger than fiction. Fame at a young age has come to many a musician, only to have drugs and alcohol take down the band. Not many get a 2nd chance for musical redemption. And many who got lost along the way never find their way. I was very touched by this documentary. I was a Dolls fan but never knew what became of them, other than the obvious David Johanssen. Rent this for sure!

Kevin S. gave it a9:
An absolutely wonderful movie. A wildly delightul combination of rock and roll and the Mormon church. The story is marvelously stranger than fiction.

Kurt W. gave it a10:
Timing is everything. A moving true story about decadence, humility, redemption, and reconciliation. You can't script a story like this one because it is absolutely real. Do not miss this film.

L Clark gave it a9:
A great view and contrast between the life of a former rock star and his new life as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (a.k.a. Mormons). Too bad he didn't find it sooner. Humorous, unique, has artistic timeline presentation and is inspirational. I highly recommend it.

Tony D. gave it a10:
It was awesome!!! It made me think about life and gave me a new perspective.

christine h gave it a9:
I have never seen anything quite like this, i almost did not believe it had really happened, but it obviously did.

Read more user comments >

Popular on CBS sites: SEC Football | NFL | Video Game Cheats | iPhone | Video Game Reviews | Notebooks | Antivirus Software

About CBS Interactive | Jobs | Advertise

© 2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use