All The Fine Boys NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (95)
See it if you like intense drama or edgy subjects (think Blackbird) in intimate setting with small cast, which commendably portray complex characters.
Don't see it if you need to root for the characters, or need an intermission & large theatre, or uncomfortable with visceral material & exploitation themes.
See it if My partner liked the idea of the problems of the young. Scored an 80
Don't see it if I was disturbed by the topic . The actors were too old for the 14 year olds. My score a 60
See it if you enjoy new work featuring a small ensemble of actors in an intimate space.
Don't see it if frank discussions about sexuality and/or statutory rape make you uncomfortable.
See it if Interested in teenage girls in the 80's and their hopes & dreams, realistic or otherwise.
Don't see it if 2 actresses not believable as 14 year olds, tho both can act. 2 men better cast. Unconvincing as drama. Staging could have been better.
See it if you need to see another story about empty lives and stupid life choices. It takers a melodramatic turn that feels extreme and awkward
Don't see it if you want growth and development in your characters. The real life lessons of choices and consequences are wasted on these people.
See it if You like a playthat should have been an after-school special for youths
Don't see it if You fondly remember Abigail Breslin as cutey with talent!
See it if You like seeing famous actors in an intimate setting dealing with a heavy topic in an 80s time period.
Don't see it if You don't like listening to stereotypical 80s teen speak dealing with statutory rape.
See it if You want to see talented actors in an intimate setting. A great script, but adults playing kids made this a bit hard to watch, but not awful
Don't see it if You don't like frank discussions about sex by 14yr old girls. Breslin can't pull off 14yrs old, and comes off as annoying instead of young.
Critic Reviews (28)
"Schmidt's excellent and disturbing (and surprisingly funny) new play...It's a cliche to call a play thought-provoking, but I've been thinking about 'All the Fine Boys' frequently since I saw it; it has provoked a lot of thoughts...The performances are quite good, but the casting is perhaps a little off...Schmidt's direction of her play is smooth, well-paced, and unobtrusive. Authors aren't always their own best directors, but Schmidt-the-director respects and gets Schmidt-the-writer."
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"Schmidt weaves the narrative of the two girls together beautifully, showing the parallels of each and their troubling twists...The cast are all so natural, and the dialogue so believable that we are left rattled by the many twists, even if some are ultimately a bit cliché. Although Ms. Schmidt has not chosen the most original subject matter, there is enough stellar acting here to make us overlook the sometimes too-familiar territory of adolescent angst and teenage sexuality."
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"Schmidt has a knack for writing dialogue that flows with ease and Breslin and Fuhrman deliver it with aplomb...Schmidt captures the precarious limbo between childhood and adulthood...What transpires...is horrifically haunting and continues to unsettle long after the play has ended but reeks of the heavy-handed touch of an after-school special. I left the theatre wondering if the carnage is necessary? But then I thought when something terrible happens, that’s usually a question we ask."
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"It’s a shame we barely see Jenny and Emily share scenes together, except an overlong sleepover scene at the top of the show...Unfortunately the bulk of the plot comes from scenes between Jenny and Joseph, which are poorly written and have predictable plot twists. Add in Breslin’s raspy smoker’s voice and it’s difficult to believe the tension between the so-called teen and her older abductor...This tired attempt at a thriller would be better served as a late-night Lifetime movie."
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