65
Metascore
16 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- It’s a serious topic, but the resulting documentary isn’t an especially severe sit. Do I Sound Gay? is a briskly entertaining 77 minutes, and frequently as mouthy as its title.
- 75RogerEbert.comOdie HendersonRogerEbert.comOdie HendersonWhat it does explore makes it a satisfying, lighthearted look at one man’s search for perceived vocal machismo.
- 75Philadelphia InquirerMolly EichelPhiladelphia InquirerMolly EichelWhile Thorpe ostensibly explores the sibilant consonants and careful enunciation that characterize what we have come to think of as "sounding gay," his film is really about his identity.
- 70The DissolveNoel MurrayThe DissolveNoel MurrayDo I Sound Gay? gets into the mysteries of homosexual attraction and eroticism, and suggests that if Thorpe wants the kind of long-term relationship that Takei, Sedaris, and Savage have, he’ll have to get over his fetishization of the macho and learn to accept himself. That’s a poignant, powerful conclusion, all from asking one question.
- 70Village VoiceAlan ScherstuhlVillage VoiceAlan ScherstuhlThorpe offers charming, intimate glimpses of his life, including memorable chats with friends and experts, and he's adept at drawing winning quotes from interview subjects — one of the most moving moments comes from George Takei.
- 70The New York TimesStephen HoldenThe New York TimesStephen HoldenMr. Thorpe’s explorations of a painful subject are an exercise in healing. His discovery of how many gay men share his anxiety and discomfort leads him to greater self-acceptance.
- The film looks back at “gay voice” throughout popular culture, starting with films of the 1930s and with TV icon Paul Lynde; it also plays a disheartening clip of a young Louis CK bellowing “f - - - - t!” in a routine.
- 60VarietyAndrew BarkerVarietyAndrew BarkerThorpe’s documentary can sometimes seem a bit intimidated by the various cans of worms it pries open, but it’s nonetheless a breezy, funny, often quite clever film more concerned with minor epiphanies than big answers.
- 50Slant MagazineClayton DillardSlant MagazineClayton DillardAnother link in an increasingly tiresome chain of naval-gazing think pieces posing as personal documentary.
- 40Los Angeles TimesGary GoldsteinLos Angeles TimesGary GoldsteinWriter-director-star David Thorpe attempts to probe the whys and wherefores of what he calls the stereotypical "gay male voice," but he ends up crafting a naval-gazing self-portrait that's unflattering, inconclusive and, at times, a bit specious.