Boom for Real: The Late Teenage Years of Jean-Michel Basquiat

Play trailer

Boom for Real: The Late Teenage Years of Jean-Michel Basquiat

Released May 11, 2018

1h 18m

Documentary

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

88%

Tomatometer

51 Reviews

57%

Popcornmeter

50+ Ratings

Never-before-seen works, writings and photographs offer insight into the life of Jean-Michel Basquiat as a teenager in New York in the late 1970s. The times, the people and the movements of the city help Basquiat form his artistic vision.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Buy Now

Critics Consensus

Boom for Real: The Late Teenage Years of Jean-Michel Basquiat offers an insightful look into a key period of the artist's life, his peers and influences, and the early '80s art world.

Read Critics Reviews

Tara Brady

Irish Times

Down, delightfully dirty and almost impossible to reconcile with last year's record-breaking $110 million sale of Basquiat's untitled skull painting, Boom for Real is for real all right.

Rated: 4/5

Jul 23, 2018

Full Review

Wendy Ide

Observer (UK)

The central character in the film remains curiously enigmatic, like a drawing that hasn't been completely coloured in.

Rated: 4/5

Jun 25, 2018

Full Review

Kevin Maher

Times (UK)

This could be deliberate, making the point that Basquiat was essentially unknowable, but it makes for a film that's considerably less engaging than its subject.

Rated: 2/5

Jun 22, 2018

Full Review

Marya E. Gates

Cool People Have Feelings, Too. (Substack)

Not only explores this time in the artist’s life, but also puts the arts scene in New York City1 at the time into illuminating context.

Feb 12, 2024

Full Review

Jason Adams

The Film Experience

Even more than just feeling truthful about the man himself it paints a vital portrait of the time and place that he worked in and helped catapult to eternal coolness

Jul 2, 2021

Full Review

Steven Prokopy

Third Coast Review

The time and place is so miraculously captured that it feels like you're looking at life on another planet -- one where while punk-rock kids moved in the same circles as hip-hop performers, and the resulting art is a ragged and fully representational.

Jun 17, 2020

Full Review

Read all reviews

p G

Great documentary, you are being transported to NY and following the steps and creative path of Jean Michel.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/11/23

Full Review

Elisa D

Didn't learn much about Basquiat, but it's an interesting capture of the mid-70s in downtown Manhattan.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

06/02/19

Full Review

Audience Member

Totally captures the time.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/07/23

Full Review

emily n

was about the scene more than him.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Sara Driver

Director

Alexis Adler

Self

Felice Rosser

Self

"Lee" George Quinones

Self

Jim Jarmusch

Self

James Nares

Self

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

Burden

97%

88%

Burden

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Burden

The Gospel According to André

87%

75%

The Gospel According to André

Watchlist

Harry Benson: Shoot First

86%

45%

Harry Benson: Shoot First

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Harry Benson: Shoot First

Lo and Behold, Reveries of the Connected World

92%

68%

Lo and Behold, Reveries of the Connected World

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Lo and Behold, Reveries of the Connected World

Peter and the Farm

100%

76%

Peter and the Farm

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Peter and the Farm

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Life of the Party Crashes

View more photos

Synopsis

Never-before-seen works, writings and photographs offer insight into the life of Jean-Michel Basquiat as a teenager in New York in the late 1970s. The times, the people and the movements of the city help Basquiat form his artistic vision.

Director: Sara Driver
Producer: Rachel Dengiz, Sara Driver
Distributor: Magnolia Pictures
Production Co: Magnolia Pictures, Bunny Lake Films, Le Pacte
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): May 11, 2018, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 21, 2018
Box Office (Gross USA): $164.5K
Runtime: 1h 18m

Most Popular at Home Now