67
Metascore
11 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 78Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenAustin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenTales of the Rat Fink is an ebullient survey of Roth's life that revs along with the zest a souped-up hot rod.
- 75Seattle Post-IntelligencerSean AxmakerSeattle Post-IntelligencerSean AxmakerThe colorful cultural history lesson in an idiosyncratic key is entertaining and informative, if a little indulgent in its adoration of Roth and his counter-car culture.
- 75The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Jennie PunterThe Globe and Mail (Toronto)Jennie PunterMann (Comic Book Confidential) plays with archive, animation and music (hot soundtrack by the Sadies), illuminating another worthy counter-culture corner. Pure fun, fun, fun.
- 70Chicago ReaderJonathan RosenbaumChicago ReaderJonathan RosenbaumSome of Roth's cars become characters, their voices furnished by Ann-Margret, Jay Leno, Brian Wilson, Matt Groening, Tom Wolfe, and others. The pace never flags, and the enthusiasm is infectious.
- 70L.A. WeeklyScott FoundasL.A. WeeklyScott FoundasThese hunks of greased lightning tell how a gearhead SoCal teen got wind of the post-World War II hot-rodding craze, crossed paths with a pinstriper named von Dutch and ended up as the automotive visionary whom Tom Wolfe famously called “a genius of the only uniquely American art form.”
- A breezy and lightweight primer, but to really make Roth's work and influence into more than just a nostalgia trip would require a discipline and wit seemingly beyond Mann's easygoing, feel-good survey.
- 60The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisThe New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisDepending on your age, sex and mechanical inclinations, Tales of the Rat Fink will convince you that Mr. Roth should either have been canonized or smothered at birth.
- 50Film ThreatFilm ThreatFull of interesting visuals and illustrations, Tales of the Rat Fink would have made a really great introduction to a film that I never got to see.
- 50Boston GlobeJanice PageBoston GlobeJanice PageTo those filmgoers who wouldn't know Rat Fink from Barton Fink, this reviewer's advice is: Pass. The latest counterculture tribute by Mann, director of 1988's "Comic Book Confidential" and 1999's "Grass," is as proudly silly as it is informative, and it can't help that a critical amount of brand coolness gets lost in the translation.