A rebellious stoner named Moondog lives life by his own rules.... (Full plot summary below)
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A rebellious stoner named Moondog lives life by his own rules.
Leave your thoughts about The Beach Bum.
| Austin ChronicleDan GentileThere’s a moment in The Beach Bum when aging wastrel Moondog smokes a joint in a hammock, surrounded by naked women, with two hands on a bongo drum and a mouthful of gibberish poetry. That moment lasts 95 minutes, and it is glorious. |
| Rolling StoneDavid FearSomehow, The Beach Bum is even nuttier, less logical, more visually beautiful and down-in-the-gutter uglier than the film you just imagined from that description. |
| Slant MagazinePeter GoldbergWith the film, Harmony Korine solidifies his position as the premier cartographer of the Sunshine State as a place of unhurried pursuits. |
| The AtlanticDavid SimsThe most shocking thing about the film is its unabashed cheerfulness. For all Korine’s trademark provocation, The Beach Bum somehow manages to be an upbeat, triumphant tale of creativity and free-spiritedness. |
| The PlaylistRyan OliverThe hedonism on display is very much of a piece with “Trash Humpers” and “Spring Breakers,” but in a surprising change of pace for Korine, the film is more at ease with itself, and more emotional than either of those two provocative efforts. |
| TheWrapDave WhiteMcConaughey dives headfirst into the well here, howling all the way, and his committed performance is one to admire even if it’s not one to like. |
| RogerEbert.comBrian TallericoKorine’s visual gifts are on full display, capturing both the opulence of Florida and its scuzzy side in a way that finds beauty in both. |
| Los Angeles TimesJustin ChangThis is a comedy whose laughs seem to arise as much from the silly, sun-drenched atmosphere as from individual gags, and whose pleasures can feel as sweet and impermanent as marijuana smoke. |
| TimeStephanie ZacharekThe Beach Bum is barely a movie; it’s more of a joyous squiggle adorned with a paper cocktail umbrella, a “What did I just see?” dollar-store trinket. But in these dark times, it’s just the ticket. |
| The A.V. ClubA.A. DowdThe Beach Bum, by turn, seems to exist in the hazy headspace of its protagonist, a kindred spirit in less-than-lofty, party-till-you-puke ambition. But there’s a bummer relevance lurking in his fantasy of a rich idiot who does whatever he wants and faces no consequences for his actions. |
