The Life of Reilly
Encyclopedia
The Life of Reilly is a 2006 American film adaptation of actor Charles Nelson Reilly
's one-man play "Save It For the Stage: The Life of Reilly". Written by Reilly and Paul Linke
, and directed by Frank L. Anderson
and Barry Poltermann
, the film is an edited version of Reilly's much longer stage show, filmed live before audiences at the El Portal Theater in North Hollywood, California in October 2004. The final film is compiled from Reilly's final two performances, interspersed with clips, images and music.
"The Life of Reilly" premiered at the South by Southwest
Film Festival in March 2006 to positive reviews and proceeded to play for over a year on the festival circuit, including the Seattle International Film Festival
and Newfest. A limited theatrical release began in November 2007.
in July 2000. The play was based upon lectures that Reilly, a Tony Award-winning Broadway
actor, had been giving to college theater students. The stage play was written by Reilly and Paul Linke, and directed by Linke.
Reilly took the play around the country, including the New Conservatory Theatre Center
, San Francisco, California
and the Irish Repertory Theatre
, New York City
, both in 2001.
The New York Times
hailed the play as "a homey, entertaining evening, what one imagines it might be like to meet Mr. Reilly through mutual friends, have a couple of drinks and listen to a series of his anecdotes..." San Francisco's SF Weekly
called Reilly's performance "nebbishy, cranky, excitable, grouchy, Bronx-accented, eccentric, and fey: He's like a loudmouthed, American Quentin Crisp
." The running time of the performance often ranged over three hours, a point cited in some critics' reviews. For example, Variety
said, "If there's something exasperating about the show's expansiveness, there's something endearing, too, about Reilly's insistence on his two full acts of stage time. His celebrity has been peculiar and peripheral -- he's far better known to most for his high-camp guffaw on "Match Game
" than for directing Julie Harris
in "The Belle of Amherst
" or appearing on Broadway in "Bye, Bye Birdie" and "How to Succeed in Business." So why not let him run a little amok? At 70, he's earned it. And with his sharp wit and scruffily friendly, eccentric stage presence, he's wonderful company."
For his work in "Save it For the Stage: The Life of Reilly" Reilly was nominated for a Drama Desk Award
in 2001 and an Outer Critics Circle Award
in 2002, both for Outstanding Solo Performance.
. We meet his family — an institutionalized father, a racist, baseball bat-wielding mother, and a lobotomized aunt, amongst others. "Eugene O’Neill would never get near this family," Reilly declares.
Prior to being put into an institution, Reilly’s father, a Paramount Pictures
poster artist and illustrator, was offered the chance to go into business with another illustrator with the intention of making their first animated film in color together. The catch was simply that the senior Mr. Reilly would have to move himself and his family to California. Perhaps a defining moment in young Reilly’s life, his father asked his mother her thoughts and she unceremoniously rejected the possibility. The other illustrator went west without the senior Mr. Reilly as a partner. That other illustrator was named Walt Disney
.
After this missed opportunity, Reilly's father began drinking heavily and eventually had a nervous breakdown. Upon being institutionalized, the family was forced to move out of the Bronx up to Connecticut to live with Mrs. Reilly’s family.
When Reilly turned eighteen, he moved to New York City. "If you wanted to be an actor in those days," he explains, "You did something that’s really unheard of today… you studied." Young and hungry (literally), Reilly managed to find an acting class at HB Studios
, which was rather liberal in its door policy and would let in aspiring actors even if they didn’t have the money to pay.
Reilly’s class was taught by a young, award-winning, soon-to-be-legendary actress, Uta Hagen
. In the class were such future stars and notables as Steve McQueen
, Jerry Stiller
, Anne Meara
, Hal Holbrook
, Jason Robards
, and Gene Hackman
. It was a group of future Academy Award, Tony Award and Emmy Award
winners, and, as Charles explains, "We wanted to go on the stage, none of us had any money, and this entire list… couldn’t act for shit."
It was about this time when a friend of Reilly's arranged a meeting with a powerful NBC
executive. Reilly went in and was told, "They don’t let queers on television." In retrospect, Reilly describes it as, "A short meeting." Despite the apparent prejudice against him, his talent and tenacity landed him on Broadway, winning his first Tony Award for his role in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
, as well as leading roles in the original Broadway casts of Bye Bye Birdie and Hello, Dolly!
Reilly went on to become a fixture in television appearing in numerous episodes of Car 54, Where Are You?
, The Ghost & Mrs. Muir
, and starring in Lidsville
. He also made hundreds of guest appearances on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
, second in number of appearances only to Bob Hope, and had a more recent memorable guest spot
on The X-Files
. Over the years, he developed a habit of looking through the week’s TV Guide
to see how many times he would be on TV that week. Coming in at over a hundred separate appearances, he reflected on the NBC executive who told him he would not be allowed on television — but now Reilly wondered, "Who do I have to fuck to get off?!"
Success came to Reilly’s professional life, and he has used all the knowledge and expertise he has gained through a lifetime spent acting to teach. His longtime friend Burt Reynolds
gifted him a theater in which to teach the craft of acting, and it has fulfilled Reilly ever since. As we leave him in what he calls "The twilight of an extraordinary life", we see a portrait of an artist, a victim of prejudice who rose above it, a trailblazing comedic personality, an entertainer, a son, a teacher, and a man laid bare for all to see.
and Canada
in late 2007 and throughout 2008 to very positive reviews but limited box office and did not receive a DVD release. In early 2009 the filmmakers announced that the film had been slated for release by New Yorker Films
but was indefinitely delayed due to the bankruptcy of the distributor. In October 2010 the filmmakers made a DVD available on Amazon.
and was listed as the best reviewed film of 2007.
John Simon (critic)
reviewed The Life of Reilly saying that "(Reilly's) life provided the blueprint, but Reilly's literary artistry had to construct it into a fabulous narrative full of sharply observed detail, irresistible humor, unmilked melancholy and humanely observed humanity. Much of it is worthy of Balzac, Dickens or Mark Twain
."
The Village Voice
wrote that "Rambling, blithe, nostalgic, and out for revenge, Reilly presents a witty anecdotal timeline of his life, and the bittersweet milestones play like a Spalding Gray monologue loosened up with a few shots of tequila."
The film appeared on several critics' and reader top ten lists of the best films of 2007 including: The Village Voice/LA Weekly Film Poll of Best Films of 2007, which featured "The Life of Reilly" in its top ten "Best Documentary" list; Nerve.com's 2007 Reader's Poll, which listed "The Life of Reilly" as the 3rd Funniest Film of 2007; and Ed Gonzalez of Slant Magazine
, who picked "The Life of Reilly" as the year's 10th best film overall.
Charles Nelson Reilly
Charles Nelson Reilly was an American actor, comedian, director and drama teacher known for his comedic roles in theater, movies, children's television, animated cartoons, and as a panelist on the game show Match Game....
's one-man play "Save It For the Stage: The Life of Reilly". Written by Reilly and Paul Linke
Paul Linke
Paul Linke is an American actor, known for his role as Officer Artie Grossman in CHiPs, a television series about the motorcycle officers of the California Highway Patrol. Linke has worked in film and extensively in television, mostly portraying mild-mannered everyman roles.Linke was born in New...
, and directed by Frank L. Anderson
Frank L. Anderson
Frank L. Anderson is an American animator, director, author, and musician. Anderson was born on Basilan Island and raised in Zamboanga City and Manila, the Philippines. At the age of 11 he moved to the town of Deerfield, Wisconsin with his family.By the age of 17 he was a musician playing pedal...
and Barry Poltermann
Barry Poltermann
Barry Alan Poltermann is an American film editor, director, and entrepreneur. Poltermann edited the Sundance Grand Prize winning documentary American Movie and edited the Sundance Special Jury Prize winning documentary, The Pool , both for director Chris Smith...
, the film is an edited version of Reilly's much longer stage show, filmed live before audiences at the El Portal Theater in North Hollywood, California in October 2004. The final film is compiled from Reilly's final two performances, interspersed with clips, images and music.
"The Life of Reilly" premiered at the South by Southwest
South by Southwest
South by Southwest is an Austin, Texas based company dedicated to planning conferences, trade shows, festivals and other events. Their current roster of annual events include: SXSW Music, SXSW Film, SXSW Interactive, SXSWedu, and SXSWeco and take place every spring in Austin, Texas, United States...
Film Festival in March 2006 to positive reviews and proceeded to play for over a year on the festival circuit, including the Seattle International Film Festival
Seattle International Film Festival
The Seattle International Film Festival , held annually in Seattle, Washington since 1976, is among the top film festivals in North America. Audiences have grown steadily; the 2006 festival had 160,000 attendees...
and Newfest. A limited theatrical release began in November 2007.
Original stage performance
The Life of Reilly was originally a theatre piece called "Save It For the Stage: The Life of Reilly", which was first performed in Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
in July 2000. The play was based upon lectures that Reilly, a Tony Award-winning Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
actor, had been giving to college theater students. The stage play was written by Reilly and Paul Linke, and directed by Linke.
Reilly took the play around the country, including the New Conservatory Theatre Center
New Conservatory Theatre Center
The New Conservatory Theatre Center is a not-for-profit theatre company located in San Francisco, California. NCTC showcases an eight-show Pride Season, an In-Concert/Cabaret Series, Family Theatre performances, YouthAware Touring Educational Theatre, and an Emerging Artists program. NCTC also...
, San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
and the Irish Repertory Theatre
Irish Repertory Theatre
The Irish Repertory Theatre is an Off Broadway theatre, founded by Ciarán O’Reilly and Charlotte Moore, which opened its doors in September 1988, with Sean O’Casey’s The Plough and the Stars.The mission of the theatre was and remains:...
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, both in 2001.
The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
hailed the play as "a homey, entertaining evening, what one imagines it might be like to meet Mr. Reilly through mutual friends, have a couple of drinks and listen to a series of his anecdotes..." San Francisco's SF Weekly
SF Weekly
SF Weekly is a free alternative weekly newspaper in San Francisco, California. The newspaper, distributed throughout the San Francisco Bay Area every Wednesday, is published by Village Voice Media, a 16-paper alt weekly newspaper chain that also includes the New York City Village Voice and the Los...
called Reilly's performance "nebbishy, cranky, excitable, grouchy, Bronx-accented, eccentric, and fey: He's like a loudmouthed, American Quentin Crisp
Quentin Crisp
Quentin Crisp , was an English writer and raconteur. He became a gay icon in the 1970s after publication of his memoir, The Naked Civil Servant.- Early life :...
." The running time of the performance often ranged over three hours, a point cited in some critics' reviews. For example, Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
said, "If there's something exasperating about the show's expansiveness, there's something endearing, too, about Reilly's insistence on his two full acts of stage time. His celebrity has been peculiar and peripheral -- he's far better known to most for his high-camp guffaw on "Match Game
Match Game
Match Game is an American television game show in which contestants attempted to match celebrities' answers to fill-in-the-blank questions...
" than for directing Julie Harris
Julie Harris
Julia Ann "Julie" Harris is an American stage, screen, and television actress. She has won five Tony Awards, three Emmy Awards and a Grammy Award, and was nominated for an Academy Award. In 1994, she was awarded the National Medal of Arts. She is a member of the American Theatre Hall of Fame...
in "The Belle of Amherst
The Belle of Amherst
The Belle of Amherst is a one-woman play by William Luce.Based on the life of poet Emily Dickinson from 1830-1886, and set in her Amherst, Massachusetts home, the play makes use of her work, diaries, and letters to recollect her encounters with the significant people in her life - family, close...
" or appearing on Broadway in "Bye, Bye Birdie" and "How to Succeed in Business." So why not let him run a little amok? At 70, he's earned it. And with his sharp wit and scruffily friendly, eccentric stage presence, he's wonderful company."
For his work in "Save it For the Stage: The Life of Reilly" Reilly was nominated for a Drama Desk Award
Drama Desk Award
The Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category...
in 2001 and an Outer Critics Circle Award
Outer Critics Circle Award
The Outer Critics Circle Awards are presented annually for theatrical achievements both on and Off-Broadway and were begun during the 1949-1950 theater season. The awards are decided upon by theater critics who review for out-of-town newspapers, national publications, and other media outlets...
in 2002, both for Outstanding Solo Performance.
Plot
The film begins with Reilly recounting his childhood and his parents in New York City and ConnecticutConnecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
. We meet his family — an institutionalized father, a racist, baseball bat-wielding mother, and a lobotomized aunt, amongst others. "Eugene O’Neill would never get near this family," Reilly declares.
Prior to being put into an institution, Reilly’s father, a Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
poster artist and illustrator, was offered the chance to go into business with another illustrator with the intention of making their first animated film in color together. The catch was simply that the senior Mr. Reilly would have to move himself and his family to California. Perhaps a defining moment in young Reilly’s life, his father asked his mother her thoughts and she unceremoniously rejected the possibility. The other illustrator went west without the senior Mr. Reilly as a partner. That other illustrator was named Walt Disney
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
.
After this missed opportunity, Reilly's father began drinking heavily and eventually had a nervous breakdown. Upon being institutionalized, the family was forced to move out of the Bronx up to Connecticut to live with Mrs. Reilly’s family.
When Reilly turned eighteen, he moved to New York City. "If you wanted to be an actor in those days," he explains, "You did something that’s really unheard of today… you studied." Young and hungry (literally), Reilly managed to find an acting class at HB Studios
HB Studios
HB Studios is a video game development company, founded in July 2000 by Jeremy Wellard, and located in Nova Scotia, Canada.-History:HB's headquarters are located in the small town of Lunenburg on the South Shore of Nova Scotia. The company started with nine developers working on Cricket 2002 for...
, which was rather liberal in its door policy and would let in aspiring actors even if they didn’t have the money to pay.
Reilly’s class was taught by a young, award-winning, soon-to-be-legendary actress, Uta Hagen
Uta Hagen
Uta Thyra Hagen was a German-born American actress and drama teacher. She originated the role of Martha in the 1963 Broadway premiere of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? by Edward Albee...
. In the class were such future stars and notables as Steve McQueen
Steve McQueen
Terrence Steven "Steve" McQueen was an American movie actor. He was nicknamed "The King of Cool." His "anti-hero" persona, which he developed at the height of the Vietnam counterculture, made him one of the top box-office draws of the 1960s and 1970s. McQueen received an Academy Award nomination...
, Jerry Stiller
Jerry Stiller
Gerald Isaac "Jerry" Stiller is an American comedian and actor.He spent many years in the comedy team Stiller and Meara with his wife Anne Meara...
, Anne Meara
Anne Meara
Anne Meara is an American actress and comedian. She and Jerry Stiller were a prominent 1960s comedy team, appearing as Stiller and Meara, and are the parents of actor/comedian Ben and actress Amy Stiller.- Personal life :...
, Hal Holbrook
Hal Holbrook
Harold Rowe "Hal" Holbrook, Jr. is an American actor. His television roles include Abraham Lincoln in the 1976 TV series Lincoln, Hays Stowe on The Bold Ones: The Senator and Capt. Lloyd Bucher on Pueblo. He is also known for his role in the 2007 film Into the Wild, for which he was nominated for...
, Jason Robards
Jason Robards
Jason Nelson Robards, Jr. was an American actor on stage, and in film and television, and a winner of the Tony Award , two Academy Awards and the Emmy Award...
, and Gene Hackman
Gene Hackman
Eugene Allen "Gene" Hackman is an American actor and novelist.Nominated for five Academy Awards, winning two, Hackman has also won three Golden Globes and two BAFTAs in a career that spanned five decades. He first came to fame in 1967 with his performance as Buck Barrow in Bonnie and Clyde...
. It was a group of future Academy Award, Tony Award and Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
winners, and, as Charles explains, "We wanted to go on the stage, none of us had any money, and this entire list… couldn’t act for shit."
It was about this time when a friend of Reilly's arranged a meeting with a powerful NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
executive. Reilly went in and was told, "They don’t let queers on television." In retrospect, Reilly describes it as, "A short meeting." Despite the apparent prejudice against him, his talent and tenacity landed him on Broadway, winning his first Tony Award for his role in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying is a musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Abe Burrows, Jack Weinstock, and Willie Gilbert, based on Shepherd Mead's 1952 book of the same name....
, as well as leading roles in the original Broadway casts of Bye Bye Birdie and Hello, Dolly!
Hello, Dolly! (musical)
Hello, Dolly! is a musical with lyrics and music by Jerry Herman and a book by Michael Stewart, based on Thornton Wilder's 1938 farce The Merchant of Yonkers, which Wilder revised and retitled The Matchmaker in 1955....
Reilly went on to become a fixture in television appearing in numerous episodes of Car 54, Where Are You?
Car 54, Where Are You?
Car 54, Where Are You? is an American sitcom that ran on NBC from 1961 to 1963. Episodes had various directors, the most recognized being Al De Caprio. Stanley Prager and Nat Hiken also directed several episodes. Most of its filming was on location in The Bronx, and at Biograph...
, The Ghost & Mrs. Muir
The Ghost & Mrs. Muir (TV series)
The Ghost & Mrs. Muir is a situation comedy based on the 1947 film The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, which was based on the 1945 novel by R.A. Dick. It starred Hope Lange as Carolyn Muir, a young widow who rents Gull Cottage, near the fictional fishing village of Schooner Bay, Maine along with her two...
, and starring in Lidsville
Lidsville
Lidsville was Sid and Marty Krofft's third television show following H.R. Pufnstuf and The Bugaloos . As did its predecessors, the series combined two types of characters: conventional actors in makeup filmed alongside performers in full mascot costumes, whose voices were dubbed in post-production...
. He also made hundreds of guest appearances on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson is a talk show hosted by Johnny Carson under the Tonight Show franchise from 1962 to 1992. It originally aired during late-night....
, second in number of appearances only to Bob Hope, and had a more recent memorable guest spot
Jose Chung's From Outer Space
"Jose Chung's From Outer Space" is the 20th episode of the third season of the science fiction television series The X-Files. The episode first aired in the United States on April 12, 1996, on FOX. It was written by Darin Morgan and directed by Rob Bowman...
on The X-Files
The X-Files
The X-Files is an American science fiction television series and a part of The X-Files franchise, created by screenwriter Chris Carter. The program originally aired from to . The show was a hit for the Fox network, and its characters and slogans became popular culture touchstones in the 1990s...
. Over the years, he developed a habit of looking through the week’s TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
to see how many times he would be on TV that week. Coming in at over a hundred separate appearances, he reflected on the NBC executive who told him he would not be allowed on television — but now Reilly wondered, "Who do I have to fuck to get off?!"
Success came to Reilly’s professional life, and he has used all the knowledge and expertise he has gained through a lifetime spent acting to teach. His longtime friend Burt Reynolds
Burt Reynolds
Burton Leon "Burt" Reynolds, Jr. is an American actor. Some of his memorable roles include Bo 'Bandit' Darville in Smokey and the Bandit, Lewis Medlock in Deliverance, Bobby "Gator" McCluskey in White Lightning and sequel Gator, Paul Crewe and Coach Nate Scarborough in The Longest Yard and its...
gifted him a theater in which to teach the craft of acting, and it has fulfilled Reilly ever since. As we leave him in what he calls "The twilight of an extraordinary life", we see a portrait of an artist, a victim of prejudice who rose above it, a trailblazing comedic personality, an entertainer, a son, a teacher, and a man laid bare for all to see.
Production
The Life of Reilly was filmed on HD video live in front of an audience. Reilly was ill at the time with chronic asthma and was forced to cancel one of the three performances. The bulk of the final film was shot on the final night's performance, which would turn out to be the last time Reilly performed in front of an audience. Additional material was filmed during rehearsals, and the final film is an edited version of his full three-hour-plus live performance, interspersed with short film clips, animation and re-enactments.Distribution
The Life of Reilly received a regional theatrical release primarily in Landmark Theaters in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
in late 2007 and throughout 2008 to very positive reviews but limited box office and did not receive a DVD release. In early 2009 the filmmakers announced that the film had been slated for release by New Yorker Films
New Yorker Films
New Yorker Films is an independent film distribution company founded by Daniel Talbot in 1965. It started as an extension of his Manhattan movie house, the New Yorker Theater, after he discovered he was unable to obtain certain foreign titles for exhibition....
but was indefinitely delayed due to the bankruptcy of the distributor. In October 2010 the filmmakers made a DVD available on Amazon.
Critical reception
After its release, The Life of Reilly garnered a "100% Fresh" rating from critics at Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
and was listed as the best reviewed film of 2007.
John Simon (critic)
John Simon (critic)
John Ivan Simon is an American author and literary, theater, and film critic.-Personal life:Simon was born in Subotica, Bačka, County of Bačka, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, later, known as Yugoslavia . He is of Hungarian descent...
reviewed The Life of Reilly saying that "(Reilly's) life provided the blueprint, but Reilly's literary artistry had to construct it into a fabulous narrative full of sharply observed detail, irresistible humor, unmilked melancholy and humanely observed humanity. Much of it is worthy of Balzac, Dickens or Mark Twain
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...
."
The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
wrote that "Rambling, blithe, nostalgic, and out for revenge, Reilly presents a witty anecdotal timeline of his life, and the bittersweet milestones play like a Spalding Gray monologue loosened up with a few shots of tequila."
The film appeared on several critics' and reader top ten lists of the best films of 2007 including: The Village Voice/LA Weekly Film Poll of Best Films of 2007, which featured "The Life of Reilly" in its top ten "Best Documentary" list; Nerve.com's 2007 Reader's Poll, which listed "The Life of Reilly" as the 3rd Funniest Film of 2007; and Ed Gonzalez of Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine is an online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York Film Festival.- History :...
, who picked "The Life of Reilly" as the year's 10th best film overall.