Incredible film that reminded me of the era where movies were made to capture a certain time and feeling rather than just a robotic amalgamation of generic script, generic actors and a crew of people just going through the motions to get a check with a director who is only there to pay his or her bills. Udo is an international treasure and shows why he’s maintained so long and has such a beloved following and epic resume. One of those times where I had a rough day and just sat down on the couch to watch whatever wss on. As it turns out, this movie was coming on just as I was flipping through and I was too tired to even bother looking for something else. The movie made my night and put me in a better mood, which I think is how art connects to people on the highest level. To the writer, producer and director (and to Udo) thank you for making this film. Great reminder of what films can be when there is some passion and an artistic vision involved and why people started making movies to begin with.

Brilliant and highly underrated!

This film is a MUST SEE item that is both hilarious as well as inspirational. A much loved hair dresser goes out with a "bang" after making a glorious final statement....

The movie vacillates between overly sentimental and genuinely moving. Udo Kier is delightful here and most of the really moving stuff is the result of his performance.

Off-beat, quirky, incredible acting by Uno Kier. A great lesson in staying true to yourself regardless of your age. With the smallest gesture or expression, Kier conveys what he was like in his younger years. I absolutely loved this movie.

Good movie to watch once.

How’s your head, Udo?

Udo Kier is great and there are some enjoyable moments but this is a bit mawkish for my taste

I really enjoyed a previous film Todd Stephens wrote called "Edge of Seventeen" which had the same Midwestern setting as this one, which made me want to see "Swan Song". This is a much slower film which deals with small town life from the point of view of a retired hairdresser, Pat, living in a retirement home. After one of his wealthy clients who he had a falling out with a long time ago passes away and instructs her executor to engage Pat to do her hair one more time, he makes his way out of the retirement home and across Sandusky Ohio and his lifetime of memories, friends, and frenemies, to the funeral home, for one last job. I suppose Hollywood has accustomed us to follow the lives of the young and active, which may make this seem like a bit of a slog, and it did feel that way, but there was an emotional pay off in the end that made it worth it.

Writer-director Todd Stephens' no-frills indie film is, according to its opening titles, inspired by a true icon, a flamboyant gay hairdresser (as if there's any other kind in reality) called Pat Pitsenbarger who did wealthy ladies' hair in Sandusky, Ohio. If the poster had you thinking Terence Stamp, that's actually Udo Kier, a face familiar to fans of action B-movies as he's often cast as the Euro heavy. With his German accent intact, and a delivery style that's part menacing, part disdain, and all defensive mechanism, his Pitsenbarger is a bitter man who's out of place and out of time (in both sense of the phrase), having lived a life as a gay man during a very different and more conservative time than the present day. Now residing in a mundane retirement home with his grey sweatpants, the death of Linda Evans' local socialite and ex-client who specifies Pitsenbarger in her will to do her hair and make-up kickstarts a road movie, mostly on foot, of self rediscoveries, where old haunts are revisited as he gathers what he needs for the job. It's a simple yet perfectly workable narrative mechanism to hang little glimpses of his life story on, about the love of his life or his rivalry with Jennifer Coolidge's mentee-turned-competitor, but it can also be clunky at times. The film is kitsch and fairly niche, just like its subject matter, and Stephens' dreamy indie tendencies can get in the way, producing some less than smooth editing that at times look like there's a scene missing here and there. If you can get over this, this works best as a melancholic exploration of ageing, loneliness and regrets especially in the context of someone who has lost his sparkle after outliving everyone else he holds dear around him.

A little clunky at times, but the pay off is worth it. Heartfelt and beautiful...

Doing justice cinematically to a real-life icon can be a tricky proposition; sometimes it turns out right, and sometimes it doesn't. But the thorniest cases seem to be those that are caught somewhere in between, as is apparent in this fact-based memoir about a flamboyant gay Sandusky, OH, hairdresser and make-up artist. When stylist Pat Pitsenbarger is called out of retirement to handle the cosmetology duties for one of his former clients who has recently passed away, he escapes the nursing home where he's been recovering from a stroke -- and not having much of a life. His rascally adventure in the outside world takes him back to the haunts of his old life, where he confronts a number of ghosts from his past and gets a chance to see how much the LGBTQ community has changed since his heydays of running the streets. It's an experience that's both fun and melancholic for him, especially given his awareness of the fact that, like his departed patron, his days may be dwindling, too. The execution of his odyssey, however, is somewhat uneven, characterized by a number of superbly handled touching moments and others that feel clumsy and somewhat cryptic. This could be attributable to the filmmaker being too close to the material, or it might be a case of trying to pay proper reverence to a beloved individual but not quite always knowing exactly how. Much of it works, thankfully, due in large part to the excellent lead performance of Independent Spirit Award nominee Udo Kier, but even that fine portrayal isn't always enough to smooth out the rough patches that unavoidably intrude on the flow of the narrative. Writer-director Todd Stephens serves up a generally sold work here, though some deliberate, nuanced tweaking in spots likely would have taken good material and made it better. Viewers should note that this film is not to be confused with another 2021 release of the same name featuring Mahershala Ali in the lead role (though, intriguingly, both pictures deal with issues of mortality in distinctive and inventive ways). Mr. Pat certainly was a colorful character, but it's somewhat unfortunate that this offering doesn't show off all of his hues as it might have.

This touching film shows a gay man at the end of his life. The acting is superb and helps you share his thoughts of bygone days. 'Live until you die' should be the name of this flick.

I was so moved by the performance of Udo Kier. I came to love him and his journey and how he moves through it and reconciles his many losses in his own way with dignity. In spite of the appearance of despair he triumphantly "escapes" on his own terms as he takes stock of his life and those within it.

Loved everything about this movie, it is very slow but completely worth it. The theme, the gadgets, the actors, everything was so well done!!!

Lotta fun with this fun. The legend that is Udo Kier brings his ample skill as a dramatic as well as comedic actor to this project. He and writer/director Todd Stephens (Edge of Seventeen) combined their talents to create one of the most entertaining and interesting characters of 2021. It can't be any kind of easy to be like Pat (Kier), or his former lover, in a small town like Sandusky. So friendships, especially such a close, intimate, long-term friendship of decades, is invaluable. And to be betrayed by such a friend, or be treated as if you're only a friend when you're along together away from the prying eyes of that small town so they don't see you with the 'Liberace of Sandusky' would be devastating; traumatic. So this is part of what Pat is having to face when he chooses to leave the retirement home/elder care facility he lives in. A lot of funny bits in this one, both in dialogue and physical humor. I quite enjoyed this small, intimate character piece. 3.2 stars

Ugh. Slow. Poorly written. Stilted acting. Boring.

Fabulous, emotional, funny!! Loved it!!

The movie vacillates between overly sentimental and genuinely moving. Udo Kier is delightful here and most of the really moving stuff is the result of his performance.

Udo is fantastic as Mr Pat. What a great homage to 80-90's gay culture. It's a reminder of how far we have come as a society in acceptance. Still room for improvement, but I will step off my soapbox.