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I Like Killing Flies
ThinkFilm


7.0

based on 11 reviews
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How did we calculate this?

based on 5 votes
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MPAA RATING: R for pervasive language

Starring Eve Shopsin, Kenny Shopsin, and Calvin Trillin

In his feature debut, noted artist, illustrator and video-director Mahurin celebrates one of his favorite restaurants -- Shopins, a Greenwich Village institution. What emerges is a hilarious and heartfelt hymn to individuality, independence and idiosyncrasy -- not just in the kitchen, but in life. (ThinkFilm)

GENRE(S):	Documentary
DIRECTED BY:	Matt Mahurin
RELEASE DATE:	Theatrical: July 28, 2006
RUNNING TIME:	80 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

Nominated (Grand Jury Prize - Documentary), 2004 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...

100

Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips

The self-taught man behind the griddle, his wife, Eve, and their five seen-it-all kids emerge as the ensemble of the year.

Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

The result is an unabashedly home-cooked homage to New York eccentricity.

The Hollywood Reporter James Greenberg

A rare, hilarious and ultimately touching look at the kind of American iconoclast that barely exists anymore.

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

Shopsin is a small piece of New York history, and Mahurin's film is the portrait he deserves: small, noisy and oddly engaging beneath the bluster.

New York Post Lou Lumenick

Using a hand-held microphone, Mahurin captures the burly, middle-age, salty-tongued cook philosophizing nonstop as he individually prepares mouth-watering high-cholesterol meals from a 900-item menu over a stove he has put together himself.

New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman

Anyone who laments the loss of an older, grittier New York ought to adore this affectionate portrait of Greenwich Village restaurant owner Kenny Shopsin.

Chicago Reader Andrea Gronvall

This quirky 2004 documentary ends with the Shopsins' forced relocation after 32 years, an uprooting made all the more poignant by Eve's death during filming.

Variety David Rooney

Charming character study.

Village Voice Rob Nelson

A curiously tasty dish, one that could leave even a vegan with a burning desire to sample Shopsin's lamb chops.

Film Threat Staff (Not credited)

I was desperate to eat at Shopsin's by the end.

The New York Times Manohla Dargis

Mr. Mahurin is obviously enchanted by his subject, but he never gets past his delight to say anything of real, sustaining interest.

The average user rating for this movie is 7.0 (out of 10) based on 5 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Sarah C. gave it an8:
This film was engaging, hilarious, and very rich (and I am not just talking about the food!). It was a real slice of life in New York, pretty raw and very funny.

Mark T. gave it a7:
The reviews got it right. It is excellent yet unmemborable and uncomfortably strange. All in all its hard to describe and to get the real first hand experience you have to see it yourself.

Alison P. gave it a6:
Disappointing considering some things I heard but still well acted and well directed. Nothing too special.

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I Like Killing Flies ThinkFilm

I Like Killing Flies
ThinkFilm