Now Playing
Critics & Publications
Archives: A-Z Index
Advanced Search

Upcoming Release Calendar
Weekend Box Office
Film Awards & Top 10s By Year
All-Time High Scores
All-Time Low Scores
How Metascores Are Calculated
Discuss Film In Our Forums

sort by name

sort by score

38 12 Rounds
48 17 Again
76 Adventureland
48 Angels & Demons
54 Battle for Terra
xx Bruno
80 Coraline
40 Dance Flick
83 Drag Me to Hell
72 Earth
45 Fast & Furious
61 Fighting
34 Ghosts of Girlfriends Past
72 Gran Torino
73 Hangover, The
47 Hannah Montana: The Movie
51 Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
54 Imagine That
41 Knowing
32 Land of the Lost
56 Monsters vs. Aliens
34 My Life in Ruins
51 My Sister's Keeper
46 Next Day Air
42 Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
54 Observe and Report
25 Obsessed
48 Proposal, The
70 Public Enemies
61 Soloist, The
83 Star Trek
64 State of Play
55 Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, The
52 Terminator Salvation
35 Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
77 Under the Sea 3D
88 Up
43 X-Men Origins: Wolverine
34 Year One

Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

sort by name

sort by score

67 $9.99
75 24 City
66 Adoration
74 Afghan Star
48 Alien Trespass
56 American Violet
82 Anvil! The Story of Anvil
57 Away We Go
81 Beaches of Agnes, The
62 Big Man Japan
28 Big Shot-Caller, The
78 Boys: The Sherman Brothers' Story, The
55 Brothers Bloom, The
82 Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country
xx Call of the Wild
63 Cheri
62 Cherry Blossoms
63 Dead Snow
65 Departures
18 Downloading Nancy
58 Easy Virtue
70 End of the Line, The
77 Every Little Step
64 Examined Life
80 Food, Inc.
38 Gigantic
56 Girl from Monaco, The
67 Girlfriend Experience, The
87 Gomorrah
89 Goodbye Solo
63 Great Buck Howard, The
79 Harvard Beats Yale 29-29
xx Home
82 Hunger
91 Hurt Locker, The
16 I Hate Valentine's Day
81 Il Divo
54 Is Anybody There?
71 Jerichow
58 Julia
74 Lemon Tree
36 Life is Hot in Cracktown
40 Limits of Control, The
42 Little Ashes
64 Lymelife
50 Management
57 Merry Gentleman, The
66 Moon
35 New York
62 Not Forgotten
xx Offshore
78 O'Horten
64 Outrage
40 Paris 36
54 Pontypool
71 Pressure Cooker
52 Quiet Chaos
83 Revanche
67 Rudo y Cursi
86 Seraphine
65 Sex Positive
70 Shall We Kiss?
77 Sin Nombre
59 Sleep Dealer
74 Song of Sparrows, The
54 Stoning of Soraya M., The
82 Sugar
84 Summer Hours
61 Sunshine Cleaning
28 Surveillance
42 Tennessee
63 Tetro
64 Throw Down Your Heart
80 Tokyo Sonata
63 Tokyo!
70 Tony Manero
74 Treeless Mountain
88 Tulpan
74 Two Lovers
83 Tyson
83 U2 3D
60 Under Our Skin
69 Unmistaken Child
69 Valentino: The Last Emperor
22 What Goes Up
45 Whatever Works
57 Youssou Ndour: I Bring What I Love

Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

New York Doll
First Independent Pictures


8.6

based on 17 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 13 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

MPAA 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)

GENRE(S):	Documentary \| Musical
DIRECTED BY:	Greg Whiteley
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: April 4, 2006 Theatrical: October 28, 2005
RUNNING TIME:	77 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

Nominated, Grand Jury Prize (Documentary), 2005 Sundance Film Festival

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...

TV Guide Ken Fox

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

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.

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.

LA Weekly F. X. Feeney

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

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.

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.

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.

Salon.com Andrew O'Hehir

As sad stories go, this is a happy one.

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.

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.

The Hollywood Reporter Sheri Linden

A tender take on life after stardom.

Variety Dennis Harvey

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

The Onion (A.V. Club) Nathan Rabin

Unexpectedly heartwarming documentary.

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.

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.

Empire Anna Smith

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

Film Threat Pete Vonder Haar

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

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.

New York Doll First Independent Pictures

New York Doll
First Independent Pictures