Nuts!

Released Jun 22, 2016

1h 19m

Documentary

List

94%

53 Reviews

Tomatometer

76%

250+ Ratings

Audience Score

The mostly true story of Dr. John Romulus Brinkley, an eccentric genius who built an empire with his goat-testicle impotence cure and a million-watt radio station.

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Critics Consensus

Nuts! lives up to its title in the best way, offering a delightfully unorthodox look at a bizarre -- and largely unexplored -- chapter in American history.

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Max Weiss

Baltimore Magazine

Lane's loose, playful, collage-like treatment of the story sets just the right tone.

Rated: 3.5/4

Dec 29, 2016

Full Review

Steve Davis

Austin Chronicle

Director Lane and screenwriter Thom Stylinski take a lighthearted, folksy approach to telling Brinkley's life story

Rated: 3.5/5

Sep 1, 2016

Full Review

Tom Long

Detroit News

Lane uses creative animation, archival footage and recordings - the good doctor apparently loved to be filmed - to tell an absolutely outrageous story of neediness, greed, delusion and gullibility.

Rated: B+

Jul 29, 2016

Full Review

Vadim Rizov

Filmmaker Magazine

I had trouble staying with the varied animation styles, and the sense of humor is all over the place, but the well-researched narrative drive pulled me through.

Jan 18, 2023

Full Review

Alex Heeney

Seventh Row

Penny Lane’s NUTS! recounts the story of Dr. John Brinkley, who earned fame and fortune in the 1920s for transplanting goat testicles as a fertility cure for men.

Aug 23, 2022

Full Review

C.J. Prince

Way Too Indie

Lane takes advantage of non-fiction for petty and selfish reasons, which makes Lane not too far removed from her own subject.

May 22, 2019

Full Review

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dave d

Penny Lane's 'Nuts!' is a creative film for a creative man, John R. Brinkley. It's breezy and a story that is bonkers. Filmmaker Lane does an outstanding job between animation, real footage of Brinkley and his family, and talking head interviews to carve an in depth portrait of her subject. What a journey! I wouldn't have minded to learn a little bit more about the early years of Brinkley, but it's just a minor quibble. Final Score: 9.1/10

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A terrifically funny documentary about the dark, weird corners of American history

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/23/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A great and shifty film for those whom love to nut!

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/18/23

Full Review

Audience Member

An awesome documentary about a forgotten tale of unlimited ingenuity in the old, bizarre America.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/12/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Interesting story but it drags in points. Worth the watch.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/16/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Interesting story hobbled by heavy handed production and poor writing. No explanation as to what Brinkley was actually performing in terms of surgery (grafts, placebo effect, etc.), Narration script is a hodgepodge of tenses and elliptical sentences. Much fluff, little stuff.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/31/23

Full Review

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Penny Lane

Director

Gene Tognacci

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Andy Boswell

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Kelly Mizell

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Jeffrey Pillars

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Synopsis

The mostly true story of Dr. John Romulus Brinkley, an eccentric genius who built an empire with his goat-testicle impotence cure and a million-watt radio station.

Director: Penny Lane
Producer: Dan Cogan, Evan Savada
Screenwriter: Thom Stylinski
Distributor: MTuckman Media
Production Co: Cartuna
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 22, 2016, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 6, 2016
Runtime: 1h 19m

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