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Private Parts
Metascore
67 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 19 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 19
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 19
  3. Negative: 2 out of 19
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  1. Rolling Stone
    Reviewed by: Peter Travers
    100
    What can I tell you? It works. Private Parts is a comic firecracker with a surprising human touch.
  2. Film Threat
    Reviewed by: Chris Gore
    80
    While PP does contain the lesbian-toilet-poo-poo-homo-butt kind of humor you would expect, (Ba Ba Booey) underneath that, there is a real movie there with fully developed characters and engaging conflict. It's an absolute must-see.
  3. Empire
    Reviewed by: Caroline Westbrook
    80
    Director Thomas applies the deft comic touch which made The Brady Bunch Movie (similarly ignored outside the US) such a hoot, to make for a deliriously funny, frequently outrageous romp.
  4. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Jack Mathews
    80
    Private Parts is a supremely crafty, smartly written, and--given the number of "himselfs" and "herselfs" on the cast list--surprisingly well-acted piece of pop kitsch.
  5. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Elvis Mitchell
    80
    Thanks to sharp editing and surprisingly strong comic timing, the film puts less emphasis on the Stern raunchiness than on how his wilder routines make listeners drive off the road.
  6. Slate
    Reviewed by: David Edelstein
    80
    Private Parts is so riotous that you almost don't remember how unfunny Stern can be on his radio show.
  7. Variety
    Reviewed by: Todd McCarthy
    80
    A funny and unexpectedly beguiling account of the outrageous humorist's unlikely rise to the pinnacle of radio celebrity.
  8. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    75
    Howard Stern has been accused of a lot of things, but he has never been accused of being dumb. With Private Parts, his surprisingly sweet new movie, he makes a canny career move: Here is radio's bad boy walking the finest of lines between enough and too much.
  9. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Edward Guthmann
    75
    Private Parts is witty and fast-paced and makes Stern's raunchy, breast-obsessed, lesbian-fetishizing, big-penis-envying, arrested-adolescent outlook seem like harmless fun.
  10. San Francisco Examiner
    Reviewed by: Barbara Shulgasser
    75
    Private Parts is a sparkling, nonstop entertainment written by Len Blum and Michael Kalesniko and directed by Betty Thomas, but sometimes it gives the impression that Stern is nothing short of Nobel Peace Prize material.
  11. ReelViews
    Reviewed by: James Berardinelli
    75
    The question hanging over Private Parts' financial success is whether enough non-Stern fans will venture to see what they may view as a "cult" or "niche" film. Most who take a chance, regardless of what prejudices they harbor against WXRK's top personality, will find themselves rewarded by a surprisingly pleasant two hours.
  12. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Lisa Schwarzbaum
    75
    Shaped and softened by producer Ivan Reitman, screenwriters Len Blum and Michael Kalesniko, and director Betty Thomas, however, the movie-star Stern is a defanged tiger, funny but tranquilized.
  13. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Desson Thomson
    70
    Unfortunately, the movie is likely to earn more money than praise. If it showcases him in all his glory, it also shows what little glory there is to celebrate.
  14. Austin Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Marc Savlov
    67
    Thomas’ comic flair is undeniable, as is Stern’s comic acting ability; all other arguments aside, Private Parts is a consistently uproarious affair, riddled with brilliant comic set-pieces, including Stern’s many, many run-ins with various program directors and NBC brass.
  15. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Maitland McDonagh
    60
    Capably directed by Betty Thomas, this freewheeling pseudodocumentary tribute to Stern's juvenile antics paints the anarchic radio idol as Everyschmo made good.
  16. Salon.com
    Reviewed by: Charles Taylor
    50
    The real surprise of Private Parts is that it isn't very funny. It's a flat piece of work with long, slack stretches.
  17. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Rita Kempley
    50
    Private Parts, lifted from Stern's best-selling autobiography, is a choppy amalgam of "Revenge of the Nerds," "Father Knows Best" and "Network."
  18. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: Jim DeRogatis
    30
    In Private Parts Stern is clearly presenting a sanitized version of his story--he had control over every aspect of the film and vetoed more than half a dozen scripts before choosing the one that pleased him--in an attempt to reach a whole new level of stardom.
  19. Christian Science Monitor
    Reviewed by: David Sterritt
    25
    Some scenes paint a convincing portrait of Stern as a witty opponent of stuffiness, prudery, and hypocrisy. Others mix gross-out humor with nasty doses of racism, sexism, and homophobia that reveal a dark side to Stern's professional personality.
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