“‘Shoplifters of the World’ seems more affectionate to 2000s conceptions of 1980s nostalgia than to the thing itself.”

| Feb 10, 2024

Shoplifters of the World doesnt fetishize nostalgia so much as offer a glimpse into a specific time and place, and to the anxiety young LGBTQ people felt at the time.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Mar 13, 2022

Go expecting a cinematic fan letter rather than anything Wilde-worthy and this is one night that will, at the very least, open your ears.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jul 1, 2021

Overly long, superficially sentimental, and dull, Shoplifters of the World disregards its characters, lacks depth, and remains stagnant throughout.

| Original Score: 1.5/5 | Jun 6, 2021

Shoplifters of the World is bad enough that all it really accomplishes is a reminder of how great The Smiths were.

| Jun 6, 2021

It's entertaining enough, well-performed despite the fairly thin characterizations on display, and, of course, very easy to listen to given the 20 Smith songs.

| Original Score: 5/10 | Apr 14, 2021

This is the kind of teen film that treats teens like children, reassuring them of the values they already stubbornly insist on anyway...

| Apr 13, 2021

The kids seem sincere and the music is not as bad as I expected.

| Original Score: C+ | Apr 10, 2021

Though sweet and propelled by original music, this dramatic valentine to The Smiths is also trite.

| Apr 2, 2021

the movie, populated by the band's fans, is about the self-centered entitlement of the American youth in that self-centered decade. I like Dean and Mickey better.

| Original Score: C+ | Apr 2, 2021

Alas, the out-on-the-town portion of the movie is less engaging, although if you're a Smiths fan you can happily rock out to the greatest-hits soundtrack, which has everything from the title track to Panic, Girl Afraid and How Soon Is Now.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Apr 1, 2021

Writer-director Stephen Kijak has fun filling the screen with witty 1980s musical references and cultural iconography, which makes the film feel like a vintage teen comedy that blends John Hughes' astuteness with Richard Linklater's kinetic flow.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Apr 1, 2021

While there's nothing much new here, "Shoplifters" does have heart and soul, and some killer Smiths songs.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Mar 31, 2021

"The Breakfast Club" approach to sorting these characters into archetypes is unrewarding, and there's no trace of the personal connection that everyone brings to their most passionate fandom.

| Original Score: C- | Mar 30, 2021

Shoplifters of the World is both a music film and a coming-of-age film and it does both really well. The fact that these two are mixed this way gives the film an edge over many other films of both genres.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Mar 29, 2021

Try as they might, Ellar Coltrane and Joe Manganiello can't navigate the forced respect and admiration the script lays on their bonding scenario.

| Original Score: 2.5/5 | Mar 29, 2021

Concert documentarian Stephen Kijak switches formats to pay homage to an iconic musical act, but it doesn't feel like he's breaking new ground.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Mar 29, 2021

Richly detailed and lovingly crafted.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Mar 28, 2021

Morrissey fans might appreciate this deep-dive into the catalog, but the thinly sketched characters don't have much to say about artistic expression or the unifying power of music.

| Mar 27, 2021

With barely a tweak, Shoplifters might pass as satire of the most cluelessly self-absorbed fans of the most solipsistic pop-star narcissist in the universe-but there's no indication whatsoever Kijak would get that joke.

| Mar 27, 2021