Beautiful Losers (2008)

63% of critics liked it
(27 reviews)
69% of users liked it
(944 ratings)

Filmmaker Aaron Rose celebrates the independent spirit of D.I.Y. (do-it-yourself) culture in this documentary detailing how a group of like-minded American artists emerged from the underground in the early 1990s to have an enormous impact on the worlds of fashion, film, art, music, and pop culture… More Filmmaker Aaron Rose celebrates the independent spirit of D.I.Y. (do-it-yourself) culture in this documentary detailing how a group of like-minded American artists emerged from the underground in the early 1990s to have an enormous impact on the worlds of fashion, film, art, music, and pop culture in general. With virtually no connection to the mainstream art world, the ten artists featured in Beautiful Losers somehow managed to become the strongest creative voices of their generation. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 30 min.
Directed By: Aaron Rose, Joshua Leonard
Genres: Documentary, Musical & Performing Arts, Special Interest

In Theaters: Sep 5, 2008 Limited
On DVD: Aug 24, 2009
Studio: Sidetrack Films

Critic Reviews

Alan G. Artner, Chicago Tribune
On your deathbed you will want back the time it takes to see this one.
Michael Hardy, Boston Globe
One of the year's best documentaries.
Kenneth Baker, San Francisco Chronicle
The film's score, by Money Mark, is an entertainment in itself.
Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times
An absorbing look at how a circle of dispossessed young artists from the 1990s eventually found its way to mainstream success.
Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com
[An] alternately winsome and irritating documentary about the art scene that grew out of the Alleged Gallery on Manhattan's Lower East Side in the 1990s.
V.A. Musetto, New York Post
[A] pleasant film, which sings the praises of nonconformity.
Peter Whittle, Times [UK]
As you watch the movie wholeheartedly and uncritically celebrate the group's "nonconformist" ethos (shouldn't someone gently break it to them?), you can feel the energy being sucked out of you.
Jon Fortgang, Film4
An amiable portrait of the artist as a scruffy slacker, and a useful jumping off point for anyone interested in investigating some of the cultural issues that marked the 1990s and the start of the new millennium.
, Times [UK]
Like the art scene it documents, Beautiful Losers is chaotic, anarchic, rambling and populated by charismatic freaks with statement T-shirts, complicated haircuts and impossibly rare trainers.
Catherine Shoard, Guardian [UK]
You can't help but feel like a bit of an eye-rolling parent, wondering if a few of them might benefit from a proper job and a light slap.
Rob Daniel, Sky Movies
The affection these people have for each other is what makes Beautiful Losers (the name is taken from one of their shows) so attractive.
Thom Hutchinson, Filmstar Magazine
Prioritising the self over the job means Beautiful Losers is rarely more than a compendium of loveliness and apology.
Rumsey Taylor, Not Coming to a Theater Near You
That said, all art deserves biography, and great art deserves recognition.
Bob Strauss, Los Angeles Daily News
This is a pleasant enough visual romp with surprisingly few down notes.
Ken Fox, TV Guide's Movie Guide
Some of the art is probably interesting, but Rose's own video-influenced filmmaking style leaves little time for inspection or reflection.

Read all 15 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Nicki M

Interesting, but underwhelming documentary about art. Had some good things in it, and the artist interviews were enjoyable, but felt a bit lacking somewhere.
Lesley N

Documentary on a group of self-made artists in 90's New York and how their DIY mentality influenced the mainstream world of art and advertisting. As a fan of artists whose primary focus isn't to be as cool as humanly possible (cf most surfer dude documentaries) it was nice… More
Documentary on a group of self-made artists in 90's New York and how their DIY mentality influenced the mainstream world of art and advertisting. As a fan of artists whose primary focus isn't to be as cool as humanly possible (cf most surfer dude documentaries) it was nice to see artists enthusiastically dissing their early works and emphasizing how nerdy they were, but it was hard to tell how they got from there to fame or indeed how famous they got to be. But there's a definitely charm in a philosophy that embraces all of us who still secretly like to "make stuff" at home.