75
Metascore
15 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 90VarietyOwen GleibermanVarietyOwen GleibermanThe Automat taps into so many resonant aspects of what America used to be that to watch it is to be drawn into an enchanting and wistfully profound time-tripping reverie.
- 88RogerEbert.comGlenn KennyRogerEbert.comGlenn KennyEven if this documentary directed by Lisa Hurwitz had nothing else to recommend it, it would be worthwhile as an excellent source of Mel Brooks.
- 80Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerChristian Science MonitorPeter RainerIn its own rueful way, The Automat functions as a kind of restorative to those feelings of loss. It’s a celebration of what for so many people was among the happiest of times.
- 80The Hollywood ReporterStephen FarberThe Hollywood ReporterStephen FarberThis is no more than a minor piece of social history, but it wins us over with humor and a pointed touch of melancholy.
- 80The New YorkerRichard BrodyThe New YorkerRichard BrodyThe principal story that The Automat tells is that of a commercial vision meshing with an aesthetic one, the transformation of cheap dining into a sort of theatrical experience, complete with a stage setting of authentic craft and luxury, in which the banal purchase of food becomes a tour de force of industrial ingenuity.
- 80Even if you’ve never had the pleasure of eating in an Automat, Hurwitz brings the experience to life.
- 80Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternWall Street JournalJoe MorgensternMs. Hurwitz’s film, which was written by Michael Levine, is modest in scale yet far-ranging.
- 80Los Angeles TimesGary GoldsteinLos Angeles TimesGary Goldstein[A] lovely, deeply nostalgic tribute.
- 60The New York TimesWesley MorrisThe New York TimesWesley MorrisIf anything, The Automat seeks to burnish the mystique — it won’t be hijacked by social politics even if the company’s stance in such matters appeared to be the right one. The movie opts for a starry, top-down vantage.