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Welles Best Part of Me and Orson Welles

Christian McKay eclipses Zac Efron

By Jane Yager,  Newser Staff

Posted Nov 25, 2009 11:24 AM CST
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(Newser) – Richard Linklater's Me and Orson Welles, an atmospheric period piece set behind the scenes of Welles' 1937 production of Julius Caesar, has critics gushing about Christian McKay as Orson Welles, but split on Zac Efron as a wide-eyed teen who stumbles into Welles's glamorous orbit:

  • The "frothy" film is upstaged by its own subject, the larger-than-life Welles, writes Besty Sharkey in the LA Times. When McKay's on screen, "everyone else fades a little"—including Efron, in a role that reveals he's still "very much in the puppy-training phase."

  • Writing in Salon, Stephanie Zacharek praises McKay's performance, which "flirts with the scary truth that arrogance can be sexy," and notes the film is set in "a long-lost time when a bold kid with a showbiz dream and a little luck could actually get somewhere. Zac Efron fits right into 1937; in 2009, he's a lost boy."
  • The movie could use more Orson Welles, less Me and, Claudia Puig writes in USA Today. McKay's a "revelation"; Efron is "likable but lackluster"; and the combination of their stories "feels like two movies cobbled together."
  • Mary Pols, writing for Time, has one quibble about the exceptional McKay: his age. "He's 36, and passing for Welles at 22 is more than a stretch, especially when you're up against the world's biggest teenybopper."


In this film publicity image released by CinemaNX Films One Limited, Zac Efron, left, and Claire Danes are shown in a scene from, Me and Orson Welles.
In this film publicity image released by CinemaNX Films One Limited, Zac Efron, left, and Claire Danes are shown in a scene from, "Me and Orson Welles."   (AP Photo/CinemaNX Films One Limited, Liam Daniel)
In this film publicity image released by CinemaNX Films One Limited, Claire Danes is shown in a scene from, Me and Orson Welles.
In this film publicity image released by CinemaNX Films One Limited, Claire Danes is shown in a scene from, "Me and Orson Welles."   (AP Photo/CinemaNX Films One Limited, Liam Daniel)
In this film publicity image released by CinemaNX Films One Limited, Christian McKay is shown in a scene from, Me and Orson Welles.
In this film publicity image released by CinemaNX Films One Limited, Christian McKay is shown in a scene from, "Me and Orson Welles."   (AP Photo/CinemaNX Films One Limited, Liam Daniel)
Orson Welles delivers a radio broadcast from a New York studio in 1938.
Orson Welles delivers a radio broadcast from a New York studio in 1938.   (AP Photo)
Actress Claire Danes attends The Cinema Society premiere of Me and Orson Welles, in New York, on Monday, Nov. 23, 2009.
Actress Claire Danes attends The Cinema Society premiere of "Me and Orson Welles", in New York, on Monday, Nov. 23, 2009.   (AP Photo/Peter Kramer)
Actor Zac Efron attends The Cinema Society premiere of Me and Orson Welles in New York, Monday, Nov. 23, 2009.
Actor Zac Efron attends The Cinema Society premiere of "Me and Orson Welles" in New York, Monday, Nov. 23, 2009.   (AP Photo/Peter Kramer)
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COMMENTS
Showing 2 of 2 comments
RockyPneumonia
Nov 25, 2009 6:35 AM CST
If I had a time machine, one of the things I'd do is see that production of Julius Caesar, which was set in Nazi Germany.
Count-Spatula
Nov 25, 2009 5:27 AM CST
Besty Sharkey? With a name like that... are you fleeing a career inporn?

 
Orson Welles • movie review • Zac Efron • Christian McKay • Me and Orson Welles • Richard Linklater

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