--- title: "Crumb: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/crumb/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/crumb" critics_score: 85 critics_reviews: 13 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Crumb (1995): what the critics said Critics' score 85 from 13 reviews: 13 positive, 0 mixed, 0 negative. The reviews are uniformly favourable, and they agree on what the film is: a portrait of a badly damaged family, with Robert Crumb as its most functional member. Most critics single out the access Terry Zwigoff secured, above all to Crumb’s brother Charles, and the way the film traces the comics back to the household that produced them. Several praise how it moves between comedy and despair, and between candid footage of the brothers and hard argument about whether the drawings are satire or pornography. The disagreements are about degree. The spread runs from strong to warm, with nothing mixed or hostile. The Independent finds the film poorly structured and notes what it leaves out. Time Out thinks stretches of the family material tip into a freakshow. The Times credits much of the film’s hold to Crumb’s own laconic charisma rather than to the filmmaking, which is the closest anyone comes to a serious reservation. ## Evening Standard — Charlotte O'Sullivan Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 16 July 2020. The critic calls the film amazing and in a class of its own as a portrait of a dysfunctional family. Zwigoff's focus on Robert Crumb's brother Charles and use of old-time music are singled out for praise. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/forgotten-favourites-crumb-documentary-a4500251.html) ## Los Angeles Times — Kenneth Turan Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 28 April 1995. Turan finds the film riveting and haunting, like a Diane Arbus photograph, highlighting how horrific family conditions nurtured Crumb's singular artistic sensibility as the most functional member of his troubled clan. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-04-28-ca-59763-story.html) ## RogerEbert.com — Roger Ebert Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 26 May 1995. Ebert calls it one of the most remarkable and haunting documentaries ever made, centering on how Crumb's art served as a coping mechanism from a deeply dysfunctional family background marked by abuse and his brothers' severe mental struggles. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/crumb-1995) ## Slant Magazine — John Lingan Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 10 August 2010. The critic calls it a balanced and insightful portrait of the artist and a wrenching depiction of a tragic family, praising its compositional skill in moving between verité revelations, art criticism, and shifting tones from comedy to despair. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/crumb/) ## The AV Club — Nathan Rabin Rating A-. 26 April 2006. The critic highlights the film's queasily intimate access to Crumb's family and psyche, exploring how his art allowed him to escape the despair that defeated his brother while entertaining debates about the work's satirical versus pornographic qualities. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/crumb-1798201616) ## The New Yorker — Terrence Rafferty Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 24 April 1995. Rafferty deems it a brilliant, scary movie—the best American film of the year so far—for its unsparing yet sympathetic examination of Crumb's family trauma and the artist's detached, misanthropic creative process. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1995/05/01/mr-unnatural) ## The New York Times — Stephen Holden Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 21 April 1995. Holden describes the film as a riveting, unguarded portrait of Crumb and his dysfunctional family that reveals how his psychic wounds fueled his satirical art while probing intimate family details. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1995/04/21/movies/film-review-ideas-and-confessions-of-a-quirky-cartoonist.html) ## Variety — Todd McCarthy Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 19 September 1994. Festival review. McCarthy praises it as an excellent countercultural documentary that intimately explores Crumb's personality and extraordinarily dysfunctional family, explaining the sources of his twisted, satirical comic art. [Read the review](https://variety.com/1994/film/reviews/crumb-1200438541/) ## Little White Lies — Soham Gadre Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 5 May 2025. The critic praises Zwigoff’s documentary for its honest portrayal of Robert Crumb’s skepticism toward consumerism and capitalism, highlighting the film’s creative use of Crumb’s art and its enduring relevance. [Read the review](https://lwlies.com/in-praise-of/robert-crumb-terry-zwigoff) ## The Independent — Sheila Johnston Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 28 June 1995. The critic finds the documentary provocative and fascinating despite its flaws. Zwigoff's portrait of the cartoonist and his dysfunctional family is candid but poorly structured, with notable omissions. [Read the review](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/to-forrest-gump-an-evil-twin-to-woody-allen-a-clone-1588844.html) ## Time Out — DW Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 4 April 2012. The review describes the film as an outstandingly interesting portrait of obsession and genius, noting its fascinating look at Crumb’s family but criticizing parts that veer into a prurient freakshow. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/crumb) ## The Times — Stevie Chick Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 22 May 2004. The film succeeds thanks to the laconic charisma of its subject. It is a darkly sad picture that ends on a cautiously upbeat note, as Crumb has fashioned a warm, strong and very real family life. [Read the review](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/american-splendor-15-crumb-18-qwwbldhgds0) ## Collider — Andre Dellamorte Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 15 August 2010. The critic praises the documentary for providing a full, unvarnished portrait of Robert Crumb that respects his uncompromising integrity as an artist while confronting his personal demons and controversial elements. It highlights the film's contrast between Crumb and his damaged brothers as a key strength, noting its relevance amid shifting cultural ideas of authenticity. [Read the review](https://collider.com/crumb-criterion-blu-ray-review/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/crumb.md