All The Fine Boys NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (95)
See it if You can ignore the actors' ages and enjoy solid performances
Don't see it if You might be offended by simulated sex or violence on stage - forgot/want to forget what adolescence was like Read more
See it if you'd like to see Abigail Breslin grown up, stories of high school aged young women trying to define themselves, funny yet tragic situatiion
Don't see it if teenage girls behaving badly & trying to discover their sexuality don't interest you, predictable tragic endings disturb you,
See it if you would like to see a young girl eager to be grown thinking they are ready for adulthood to end badly.
Don't see it if the topic doesn't interest you.
See it if You like well performed dramas about uncomfortable subject matter. Breslin & Tippett are excellent & their scenes are scaringly believable.
Don't see it if A bit uneven. The secondary couple's story is not as interesting or engaging, found myself waiting for Breslin/Tippett to return.
See it if This is more like 2 separate plays mashed together of very different qualities. One riveting, one baffling. Still the good outweighs the bad
Don't see it if subject matter of desperate 14 y-o girls in need of attention with tragic consequences. Heavy but done believably and successfully. Read more
See it if This was a coming-of-age story about 2 teenage girls that starts as a giggly comedy but quickly veers off into drama and then tragedy.
Don't see it if It shows the parallel lives of two friends and how their lives went off in different directions. It bothered me that we got no background Read more
See it if You're looking for something pretty mindless and fun. Breslin's storyline works while Fuhrman's doesn't. First time I've liked Joe Tippett.
Don't see it if The lives of teenage girls and their sexual exploits don't interest you. Or if you expect a story that doesn't go exact how you think.
See it if you'd enjoy a show about the perils of being a teenage girl in the throes of sexual awakening.
Don't see it if Teenage banter and silliness annoy you; you want a heavier and more important drama.
Critic Reviews (28)
"All four actors give solid performances...Unfortunately Erica Schmidt also wastes the potential to make 'All the Fine Boys' a compelling modern 'American Tragedy.' Instead the situations she has put her characters in are way too predictably developed, and except for a few scenes, more unpleasant than absorbing to watch...'All the Fine Boys' does fit the The New Group's taste for venturing into dark, provocative territory. Too bad it's dark but not provocative enough."
Read more
"Schmidt does a magnificent job portraying the awkwardness of teenagers' first sexual experiences...The flaws in 'All The Fine Boys' might be in its carefully constructed clues: a major plot point is foreshadowed multiple times, making it difficult to be surprised. But the cast is a treat to watch, with Tippett and Breslin brewing up a storm while Furman and Wolff make a poetic match."
Read more
“Lives torn apart, fine young boys who aren’t so fine, young girls who dream–sexual awakenings gone amok; not unfamiliar themes. However, Erica Schmidt–writer and director–has put her own spin on it with a talented young ensemble of actors from film and television with an ability to hold audience attention (albeit the rapid-fire pace of dialogue from Jenny sometimes comes out as gibberish).”
Read more
“Why did Erica Schmidt feel compelled to tell this story? It’s not a new one. It’s been told many times before. No new insights into motivation or character on either side...And there were some thin parts in the plot. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not badly written, the characters are fully developed, there’s some humor, there’s some dramatic tension. But in the end, I just couldn’t see the point. I will say that the performances were excellent.”
Read more
"From the occasionally clunky metaphors to the mostly surface level trappings of late '80s nostalgia, it would be a stretch to call any aspect of the play subtle, but the work is, nonetheless, powerful or, perhaps more accurately put, disturbing...The couples deliver strong performances and find an engaging, if at turns problematic, chemistry...'All the Fine Boys' is a powerful indictment against our inability to make room for and attempt to understand teen female sexuality."
Read more
“The momentum is erratic and disjointed, and over the course of this 100-minute play, so is our interest…Breslin disappoints as her character is largely one note while also being annoying…Emily’s plight is the most centered of the lot while Joseph’s uncontrollable desire and flaw seems believable and tragic. But the ones these two are paired with are either difficult to care for, or hard to believe in. It makes for some lopsided scenes and some disconnected moments.”
Read more
"'All the Fine Boys' adds nothing new or controversial about the conversation surrounding pedophilia...There are several issues that detract from the overall success of 'All the Fine Boys.' It does not work to use the same space as the setting for every scene...The action here is flat and not as engaging as it needs to be...The four actors do their best with this piece...One hopes for more suspense and a deeper understanding of the important subject matter throughout."
Read more
"If 'All The Fine Boys' had just been the scenes between Emily and Adam, the play would have been a sweet, funny, awkward, well-observed coming-of-age tale. Adam, as portrayed by Wolff, is hilariously full of himself, but he also treats Emily with respect, and we see the two of them mature just in the short time frame of the play. But the scenes between Jenny and Joe wind up as a combination Lifetime movie cautionary tale, and campy Grand Guignol horror movie."
Read more