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My Kid Could Paint That
Metascore
74 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 25 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 21 out of 25
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 25
  3. Negative: 0 out of 25
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  1. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Michael Phillips
    100
    It is a wonder, marked by a sense of wondrous skepticism that has nothing to do with cynicism.
  2. Seattle Post-Intelligencer
    Reviewed by: Sean Axmaker
    100
    It's a dissection of how the media found and fed and nurtured the story in their insatiable need for content to fill their news hours and talk shows, how it just as quickly turned on them and transformed the story from celebration to vilification, and how the public turned right along with them.
  3. Christian Science Monitor
    Reviewed by: Peter Rainer
    100
    Amir Bar-Lev's documentary is fascinating on all kinds of levels: as a movie about the nature of art, the lure and pitfalls of celebrity, and the complicated conundrums of parenting.
  4. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Lisa Schwarzbaum
    91
    Amir Bar-Lev's engrossing film is as much about the stubborn ambiguities of art, truth, meaning, and relationships as it is about the authenticity of the Olmstead oeuvre.
  5. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Noel Murray
    91
    When others can't see what parents see, there's an inescapable ache. As much as anything, My Kid Could Paint That is about that ache.
  6. Film Threat
    Reviewed by: Sally Foster
    90
    Aside from being a captivating and highly interesting film, Bar-Lev's My Kid Could Paint That is also something extremely rare – a piece of honest journalism.
  7. Philadelphia Inquirer
    Reviewed by: Steven Rea
    88
    Features entertainingly brainy musings from New York Times art critic Michael Kimmelman, and comments from child psychologists, friends and Marla collectors.
  8. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Maitland McDonagh
    88
    Bar-Lev also explores the freakish popular appeal of child prodigies, the family dynamics that come into play when a child's celebrity and earning capacity overshadows the adults', and the remarkably conflicted and contradictory admissions drawn from Brunelli about Marla's work.
  9. Portland Oregonian
    Reviewed by: Shawn Levy
    83
    The result is a true conundrum: You can't say for sure if a scam is in play or if a genuine genius is being smeared. And the brilliance of the film is that it doesn't let you feel secure in choosing either side.
  10. Empire
    Reviewed by: Will Lawrence
    80
    A highly engaging documentary that recounts a remarkable tale. Young Marla is clearly talented, but so too is her father…
  11. Dallas Observer
    Reviewed by: Robert Wilonsky
    80
    My Kid Could Paint That's about art-and it IS art, among the best documentaries ever made about that elusive process of manufacturing something out of nothing. But it's also a must-see for every single parent who believes their children are special, when all they want to be is your children.
  12. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: J.R. Jones
    80
    The mystery has never been resolved, but to his credit Bar-Lev acknowledges that he himself has become part of the story, torn between sympathy and suspicion.
  13. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    75
    In the last analysis, I guess it all reduces to taste and instinct. Some paintings are good, says me, or says you, and some are bad. Some paintings could be painted by a child, some couldn't be.
  14. Miami Herald
    Reviewed by: Connie Ogle
    75
    Documentary gold, and you will have formed an opinion on the controversy by the time you leave the theater. You may not know art, but you'll know what you like.
  15. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Elizabeth Weitzman
    75
    Everyone involved, from Marla's defensive parents to the cynical journalists who promoted and then turned on her, seems to have some sort of agenda.
  16. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Kenneth Baker
    75
    No one emerges unpunished.
  17. The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
    Reviewed by: Liam Lacey
    75
    The winner of this year's audience award for best documentary at Sundance has it all: heartless media, art fraud and a four-year-old painting prodigy.
  18. Baltimore Sun
    Reviewed by: Michael Sragow
    75
    Because Bar-Lev fails to go the extra mile either as a filmmaker or a friend, My Kid Could Paint That is at best "documentary silver."
  19. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Nathan Lee
    70
    What began as a human-interest story for filmmaker Amir Bar-Lev led down stranger paths than the Duchampian conundrums of modern art.
  20. Variety
    Reviewed by: Dennis Harvey
    70
    The popular human-interest story of a child prodigy becomes an engrossing meditation on truth, media exploitation and the value of art in My Kid Could Paint That.
  21. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Kyle Smith
    63
    Struggles to maintain a sober, evenhanded tone about an utterly ridiculous story.
  22. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: James Greenberg
    60
    The film and the controversy should generate interest at the boxoffice, but it's more a story about media manipulation and parental responsibility than art.
  23. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Kenneth Turan
    50
    The longer it goes, the more frustrating it becomes, as Bar Lev declines to come down on one side or the other.
  24. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: A.O. Scott
    50
    Mr. Bar-Lev has made an excellent documentary, but it would have been better if he had not made it at all.
  25. Austin Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Marjorie Baumgarten
    40
    My conclusion is that exploitation of a child for the sake of one's career is a shameful act.
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User Reviews

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User Score
8.2 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 9 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 4
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 4
  3. Negative: 0 out of 4
  1. Eldon
    8
    The whole story is truly fascinating. I found it interesting the questions that were raised as well as the ones that weren't. To watch a situation play out where you're questioning the minds of everyone, including Amir Bar-Lev... you really want an answer, but what is that answer? I did get the feeling that something, I don't know what, isn't adding up here. I suppose that has become the inherent question here...… Full Review »
  2. MartinM.
    8
    The film isn't entirely enjoyable but isn't a pain, and has an interesting story that I didn't know existed. Some of the critics are just letting their feelings about the story itself influence their rating of the film, like an oil executive rates a movie about global warming.… Full Review »
  3. CoriK.
    9
    Fascinating...I think she painted them but I think her father eggs her on because Marla asks for his input and he looks guilty when his wife suggests a lie detector test.… Full Review »
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