47
Metascore
15 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 75The PlaylistJessica KiangThe PlaylistJessica KiangFranco has finally delivered a side project that does at least some justice to his eclectic artistic ambitions.
- 70Los Angeles TimesSheri LindenLos Angeles TimesSheri LindenUnfocused lapses aside, though, the film is intriguing and discomforting in equal measure, using its brief running time to frame thoughtful, boundary-pushing questions.
- 63RogerEbert.comMatt Zoller SeitzRogerEbert.comMatt Zoller SeitzSo what are you looking at, really? Is the movie a bait-and-switch? Probably. The film has fun with the idea that nobody would have gotten involved were it not for the chance to work with James Franco and perhaps perform in a sex scene with James Franco (there are no sex scenes involving James Franco, if you were wondering).
- 63Slant MagazineEric HendersonSlant MagazineEric HendersonWith Travis Mathews's help, James Franco's persona forms a kind of symmetry: 1980's dubious homophobia against 2013's risible homophilia.
- 60The DissolveNathan RabinThe DissolveNathan RabinInterior. Leather Bar.’s intriguing curiosity provides ample food for thought, in part because it’s the rare film that devotes much of its running time to its own principals discussing what, if anything, the film ultimately means.
- 40The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeThe Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeWhile Leather Bar will surely make some viewers itchy, its most compelling subject isn't whether straight guys can stand to watch one man pleasuring another. More interesting is the question of what would make this project art as opposed to porn.
- Interior. Leather Bar ultimately rings hollow in its diatribe and agenda because its chief instigator refuses to open up.
- 20VarietyPeter DebrugeVarietyPeter DebrugeA partly authentic, partly scripted behind-the-scenes featurette that never quite conveys the star’s “high/curious” interest in all things taboo.
- 10Village VoiceCalum MarshVillage VoiceCalum MarshIt's a particularly risible nothing whose premise alone betrays the paucity of Franco's imagination and wit.