The Cool School
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Metascore
68 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 9 Critics What's this?

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  • Summary: The Cool School is the story of American art in the 1950s and '60s, LA's coming of age, and a distinctive, fraternal group of headstrong talents. The renowned Ferus Art Gallery groomed certain members of the LA art scene from a loose band of idealistic beatniks into a coterie of competitive, often-brilliant artists. What was lost and gained is tied up in complex web of egos, passions, money, and art. The Cool School is about San Francisco versus LA, New York versus LA, commercialism, and bohemianism. Ferus managed to do for art in LA what the museums would not; the gallery gave birth to a vibrant, coalescing scene. Assemblage art, abstract expressionism, or Pop--the men of Ferus shared ideas, goals, studios, women, and a vision. The Cool School is an extraordinary lesson in how a city can build an art scene from scratch without losing its soul. (Tremolo Productions)… Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 9
  3. Negative: 0 out of 9
  1. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Lisa Schwarzbaum
    91
    The rare footage of '50s and '60s L.A. alone is a treasure; the City of Angels has rarely looked so hip. Bonus: cool music from the likes of Charles Mingus and the Velvet Underground.
  2. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Ken Fox
    75
    Happily, many of the figures spoken about throughout the film are still with us -- Neville is even able to reproduce Patricia Foure's famous group photo with most of its original subjects.
  3. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Kenneth Baker
    75
    Takes its title from an early Artforum article that described the sleek aesthetic of the then-new Southern California art.
  4. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Manohla Dargis
    60
    The Cool School, is, well, cool, but it’s also fairly parochial.

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