Cinema has been noticeably light recently on blockbuster spectacle, but the sight of this malleable young man learning about himself in real time as the camera rolls can feel as wondrous as any special effects.

| Nov 11, 2020

The experience is perfectly setting these kids up for what American democracy is -- it's about winning and losing, your party's success... Boys State, as a chronicle of this experience, accurately then also focuses on winning and losing.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 28, 2020

The documentary about a political boot camp is a depressingly accurate microcosm of the American electoral circus...helpful-if only as a cautionary tale about what extracurriculars not to enroll your kids in.

| Aug 25, 2020

Boys State has noble aims when it comes to teaching teenagers how their leaders are chosen and held accountable, but Boys State shows that those aims can only do so much to keep the uglier side of that process at bay.

| Original Score: B | Aug 24, 2020

"Boys State" is a remarkable glimpse at the state of politics today.

| Original Score: B+ | Aug 21, 2020

A nagging absence buzzes throughout nearly the entire film, distracting the viewer from the substance, however engaging, of what's onscreen.

| Aug 21, 2020

The film is uplifting, funny, thrilling, and revealing... their experiences provide both a microcosmic look into the political process and a hint of the way future politics might unfold, in dismal and strangely hopeful ways.

| Aug 20, 2020

This is an outstanding documentary... It has you wondering how much politics is like Lord of the Flies.

| Aug 18, 2020

Boys State is one of those movies that will play differently based on both your political affiliation and whether you see the glass as half-empty or half-full.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Aug 14, 2020

The sight of a thousand frat boys chewing over women's reproductive rights is not going to be for everyone, but there are some genuinely inspiring moments among the discord.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 14, 2020

For much of the film, Moss and McBaine have viewers on the edge of their seats over which of the boys will ascend to the program's highest, and most coveted, position.

| Aug 14, 2020

Boys State, a hugely entertaining and scarily edifying documentary by Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine, pulls you in with the power of its premise. Once you know what it's about, you're eager to know what it reveals.

| Aug 13, 2020

The filmmakers, Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss, focus mostly on four boys -- and they've chosen wisely.

| Original Score: 4/4 | Aug 13, 2020

Directors Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine have accomplished the seemingly impossible task of taking a group of ambitious, media-fluent teens and somehow making the camera melt away.

| Aug 13, 2020

In this little microcosm you see not only a portrait of some serious-minded youths, but how their world views, morals and political beliefs have been molded by what's happening in the country.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Aug 13, 2020

These are just boys, and it is all pretend, but Boys State, like the event itself, delivers some legitimate life lessons.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 13, 2020

An entertaining movie whose central figures are judiciously chosen to give us just enough balance that we don't despair.

| Aug 13, 2020

It's easy to be charmed by "Boys State," which is so good that you wish it were better.

| Aug 13, 2020

Boys State belongs to that realm of documentaries, like Spellbound and Mad Hot Ballroom and Cheer, that take their structure and draw their suspense from the competitions they chronicle.

| Aug 13, 2020

Boys State offers a ruminative peek into America's future.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Aug 12, 2020