Tony

"Tony works as both a fond tribute and a sharp coming-of-age drama."

— Linda Marric, HeyUGuys

"As a film about what it means to embrace what’s in front of you and not what’s in your mind, it’s a lovely and deeply likeable work."

— Clarisse Loughrey, Independent (UK)

"Tony reminds its audience of the sharp turns and unlikely encounters that can change the course of our lives and give us stories to share over the dinner table."

— Monica Castillo, AV Club

"The unshowy dedication to craft is a marvel, and so is much else in this crystalline little film. It’s the most exhilarating experience I’ve had at the movies this year."

— Kyle Smith, Wall Street Journal

"Johnson shapes this material with both breeziness and a kind of tough-love compassion, and the track list he’s assembled summons the spirit of 1975 like a ghost."

— Stephanie Zacharek, TIME Magazine

"With Banderas particularly touching as Bourdain’s unlikely father figure, Tony immerses us in this sleepy Massachusetts community and the character’s gradual artistic awakening."

— Tim Grierson, Screen International

"A riveting, rambunctious portrait of Anthony Bourdain (a sensational Dominic Sessa) as a young pain in the ass before he started inventing himself as the rock-star king of the culinary world."

— Peter Travers, The Travers Take

"At its lovable best, “Tony” fondly reminds us of the man who could never shoot a successful fishing segment, went on head-pounding benders in Greece and helped teach the world that food could change lives."

— Johnny Oleksinski, New York Post

"The kitchen scenes are a combo platter of boot camp, frat house hazing ritual and kung fu movie. As Bourdain would later explain, he thrived in a setting where actions have instant consequences: a sore back, a sliced hand, a good meal."

— Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times

"It might focus on the origins of a beloved pop-culture figure, but there are so many moments in which you can forget about the beats and markers of Bourdain’s real life and simply enjoy it as a story about one man’s voracious aspirations and appetites."

— Barry Hertz, Globe and Mail

"Tony feels as if it has come pippin’ hot out off the griddle; it’s the cinematic equivalent of a fiery flambé depicting a talented man’s coming-of-age odyssey as he goes on to discover that there is far more to a clambake than he ever thought possible."

— Randy Myers, San Jose Mercury News