The rare footage of '50s and '60s L.A. alone is a treasure; the City of Angels has rarely looked so hip. Bonus: cool music from the likes of Charles Mingus and the Velvet Underground.
75
San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
Takes its title from an early Artforum article that described the sleek aesthetic of the then-new Southern California art.
75
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
Happily, many of the figures spoken about throughout the film are still with us -- Neville is even able to reproduce Patricia Foure's famous group photo with most of its original subjects.
70
The Hollywood ReporterSheri Linden
The Hollywood ReporterSheri Linden
Documentarian Morgan Neville has fashioned a spirited riposte to the groundless cliche that Los Angeles is a cultural wasteland.
70
Variety
Variety
What The Cool School does so well, through its color accents and black-and-white photography, through the kinetic music that propels Jeff Bridges' narration by and the unorthodox attitude that reflects the artists themselves, is impart a sense of discovery.
70
Village Voice
Village Voice
All told, and well told, this is essential history.
63
New York PostLou Lumenick
New York PostLou Lumenick
Filmed largely in black and white, The Cool School includes interviews with one of the gallery's founders, Ed Kienholz, as well as with Dennis Hopper, Dean Stockwell and architect Frank Gehry.
60
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
The cultural cock-strutting gets to be a bit much, but Neville handily captures the excitement of an art scene percolating, breaking wide open, and finally burning itself out.