It's All Gone Pete Tong
Metascore
56 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 22 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 22
  2. Mixed: 13 out of 22
  3. Negative: 2 out of 22
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  1. L.A. Weekly
    Reviewed by: Scott Foundas
    80
    The movie catches us up so profoundly in Frankie's self-destructive spiral (and gradual rehab), it's as though we’re seeing it all for the first time. I'd like to say that's because the story is true, only it isn't.
  2. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    75
    The downward arc of the first two acts of the movie is made harrowing and yet perversely amusing by the performance of Paul Kaye.
  3. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Russell Scott Smith
    75
    "Trainspotting" redux.
  4. The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
    Reviewed by: Rick Groen
    75
    An acquired taste that you may not acquire. I did, but it took me a while.
  5. Dallas Observer
    Reviewed by: Robert Wilonsky
    70
    This is phony, absolutely, but the good feeling it leaves behind is plenty real.
  6. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Sean Daly
    70
    Like "This Is Spinal Tap," It's All Gone Pete Tong should have a long afterlife as a midnight-movie special.
  7. Austin Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Marc Savlov
    67
    A smart albeit uneven jab at everything from the clubbing life to the male inclination toward Peter Pan.
  8. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Kevin Crust
    60
    Grounded by a gutsy, over-the-edge-and-back performance by Paul Kaye as Frankie, It's All Gone Pete Tong takes the long way around before finally redeeming itself.
  9. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Manohla Dargis
    60
    The British comic turned actor (Paul Kaye) appears in almost every scene and he carries that weight admirably. He manages the very neat trick of keeping you interested in a character who doesn't merit our affection but earns it nonetheless.
  10. Variety
    Reviewed by: Dennis Harvey
    60
    Colorful, sometimes endearing but highly uneven picture.
  11. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: J.R. Jones
    60
    Australian mockumentary offers plenty of cheap laughs early on.
  12. Portland Oregonian
    Reviewed by: Marc Mohan
    58
    The only problem is that he's been such a shallow, ridiculous figure that exhuming any real sympathy for the guy is a Herculean task.
  13. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Frank Scheck
    50
    It lacks the genuine wit to elevate it to a truly satirical level.
  14. Miami Herald
    Reviewed by: Peter Debruge
    50
    The entire movie rides on Paul Kaye's performance.
  15. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Jami Bernard
    50
    The faux-documentary format does nothing for the material, but Kaye turns in a chaotic and ultimately moving performance.
  16. Salon.com
    Reviewed by: Andrew O'Hehir
    50
    In addition to possessing the most confusing title of the year, Canadian filmmaker Michael Dowse's high-energy dance-club saga It's All Gone Pete Tong arrives in an elaborate package of spoof and deception that should win the admiration of any practical-joke connoisseur.
  17. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Keith Phipps
    50
    If only any of it were funny.
  18. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Laura Sinagra
    50
    Lots of Dowse's ideas work well--the ringing tinnitus, the conversion of sound to visible waves, the trimming of treble and bass for underwatery effect, the removal of ambient noise entirely. But as the humor flags, It's All Gone Pete Tong starts to feel more like an exercise.
  19. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Michael O'Sullivan
    50
    Just inspiring enough, just scary enough, just sappy enough and just funny enough to get by.
  20. Empire
    Reviewed by: Nick De Semlyen
    40
    It's part satire of the drug-fuelled clubbing scene, part harrowing disability drama -- and almost entirely improvised.
  21. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Janice Page
    38
    Isn't all wrong. But even at its very best, it's just all right.
  22. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Peter Hartlaub
    25
    The mockumentary-style delivery of a serious subject proves to be an unworkable mash-up.

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
8.8 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 13 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 7
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 7
  3. Negative: 0 out of 7
  1. DougB.
    10
    Will go down as a cult classic. Paul Kaye strangles his part to death and you just have to love it: he was born to play Frankie Wilde. [***SPOILERS***] Sure it gets a bit soft at the end, but you feel for Frankie and want him to end up with the deaf bird. A great supporting cast and hilarious set-pieces (the Austrians in the studio; the manager's sweaty rants against...heat; even a deft send-up of Victoria Beckham by Kate Magowan as Frankie's wife). Loved the soundtrack, laughed happily through the film. Don't know what that says about me, but that's my kind of entertainment.… Full Review »
  2. KellyM.
    10
    This is very moving film that looks into the dept of our everyday club-nightlife, showing us just how altering it can become. Focusing on the extentsive damage it does that most us are aware of yet continuesously dismiss. That life style creates an extrodenary level of enjoymment to the point that it out-weighs any other alternative around us. The power it has over the mind pushes you into an unconsious spiral of thoughts which eventually blinds you from anything other than itself. This movie goes into the detail of these issues that we know extist yet prefer to ignore, not even giving it the chance for us to deeply understand just what horrifing things it can lead to, that and the fact we choose to dis-believe due to our own ignorance and temptations. After watching this film it opens your mind to the over-whelming consequnces of what's possible, that once again you can't help but to disbelieve such awful things can happen. For any punter cruising along the social scene of nightlife the film is a must see! It will open you to think differently bout the film itself and how you can relate to your own life.… Full Review »
  3. SidneyO.
    10
    This movie is tops. I like it almost as much as I like Requiem for a Dream.
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