Every one of the eight reviews is positive, and the praise gathers in the same places. Critics like the songs, described as catchy, witty and quirky, and they like the performers, whose work on stage is called remarkable and electric. The coming-of-age story, about a young Black man’s artistic self-discovery, is found moving and intelligent rather than merely a frame for the numbers. Most also credit Spike Lee’s multicamera filming of the final Broadway performances with catching the show’s energy, and The New York Times goes further, finding the film tighter than the stage production.
The reservations, such as they are, concern Lee’s direction. Time Out calls it overly reverential and a little uninspired, and Slant Magazine finds some of the crane shots a distraction from a record that otherwise reproduces the stage experience well. The spread is narrow, with the coolest notices still recommending the film, and nobody questions the material itself.