Barrymore (film)


Barrymore is a 2011 Canadian drama film written and directed by Eric Canuel and based on William Luce's 1996 play of the same name. It stars Christopher Plummer reprising his Tony Award-winning role as John Barrymore.

Plot

Actor John Barrymore comes to terms with the ravages of his life of excess and rents an old theatre to rehearse for a backer's audition to raise funds for a revival of his 1920 Broadway hit Richard III.

Cast

The film was shot at the Elgin and Winter Garden Theatres in Toronto.

Release and reception

The film premiered at the 2011 Toronto Film Festival.
, the film has a 70% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 23 reviews with an average rating of 6.64/10. Andrew Schenker of Slant Magazine awarded the film one and a half stars out of four. David Fear of Time Out awarded the film two stars out of five. Colin Covert of the Star Tribune awarded the film three stars. Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly graded the film a B.
Betsy Sharkey of the Los Angeles Times gave a negative review, writing that "it was never a good candidate for film."