My Favorite Year

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My Favorite Year

PG

1982

1h 32m

Comedy

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

97%

Tomatometer

30 Reviews

84%

Popcornmeter

2,500+ Ratings

Fledgling comic Benjy Stone (Mark Linn-Baker) can't believe his luck when his childhood hero, the swashbuckling matinee idol Alan Swann (Peter O'Toole), gets booked to appear on the variety show he writes for. But when Swann arrives, he fails to live up to his silver screen image. Instead, he's a drunken womanizer who suffers from stage fright. Benjy is assigned to look after him before the show, and it's all he can do to keep his former idol from going completely off the rails.

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Critics Consensus

My Favorite Year is a joyful ode to the early days of television, carried with a deft touch and Peter O'Toole's uproariously funny performance.

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Pauline Kael

The New Yorker

As the guest from Hollywood -- the peacock Alan Swann, who is part John Barrymore and part Errol Flynn (maybe the best parts of each) --O'Toole is simply astounding.

Sep 19, 2023

Full Review

Derek Malcolm

Guardian

It is clearly O'Toole's film, and he is superb at playing the O'Toole of every gossip-writer's most cherished wish.

Mar 24, 2023

Full Review

Michael Sragow

Rolling Stone

My Favorite Year is a film that rises -- and sometimes soars -- on the beauty of its central idea and on the loving, intelligent way it’s been fleshed out.

Jun 21, 2022

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Richard Propes

TheIndependentCritic.com

My Favorite Year, with the possible exception of Lawrence of Arabia, is my favorite Peter O'Toole performance.

Rated: 4.0/4.0

Sep 17, 2020

Full Review

Molly Haskell

Vogue

My Favorite Year turns aggravated mayhem, assault, and hammery into comic gold.

Feb 27, 2020

Full Review

David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

Filmmaker Benjamin delivers a lackadaisically-paced yet generally entertaining comedy that benefits substantially from the leads' superb work...

Rated: 3/4

Feb 25, 2020

Full Review

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Dee

Slow start but the rest did not disappoint ! Loved it!

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

03/04/24

Full Review

Russ G

Peter O'Toole, a notorious drunk and rake, channels one a generation earlier: Errol Flynn, after whom the "In Like Flynn" phrase was modeled.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/03/25

Full Review

Lydia T

Perfect casting and very funny.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/23/25

Full Review

Chris B

Hilariously written and performed. Wonderfully romantic depiction of the Golden Age of television.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/22/25

Full Review

Audience Member

My Favorite Year is a joyful ode to the early days of television, carried with a deft touch and Peter O'Toole's uproariously funny performance.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/02/24

Full Review

Nadine H

Probably my favorite movie of all time. O'Toole is phenomenal.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/21/24

Full Review

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Richard Benjamin

Director

Peter O'Toole

Alan Swann

Mark Linn-Baker

Benjy Stone

Joseph Bologna

King Kaiser

Jessica Harper

K.C. Downing

Bill Macy

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Synopsis

Fledgling comic Benjy Stone (Mark Linn-Baker) can't believe his luck when his childhood hero, the swashbuckling matinee idol Alan Swann (Peter O'Toole), gets booked to appear on the variety show he writes for. But when Swann arrives, he fails to live up to his silver screen image. Instead, he's a drunken womanizer who suffers from stage fright. Benjy is assigned to look after him before the show, and it's all he can do to keep his former idol from going completely off the rails.

Director: Richard Benjamin
Producer: Michael Gruskoff
Screenwriter: Norman Steinberg, Dennis Palumbo
Distributor: MGM/UA Home Entertainment Inc.
Production Co: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Brooksfilms
Rating: PG
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 1, 1982, Original
Release Date (Streaming): May 1, 2008
Runtime: 1h 32m

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