Movie · 2025 · Comedy, Music · 2h 25m · PG-13 · English
Curator score: 8.6/10 (20.3K ratings)
Hey, old friend? How do we stay old friends?
Overview
Franklin Shepard is a talented Broadway composer who abandons his theater career and all his friends in New York in order to produce films in Los Angeles. The story begins at the height of his Hollywood fame and moves backwards in time, showing snapshots of the most important moments in Frank’s life that shaped the man he is today. A live recording of the 2024 Tony Award-winning Broadway revival of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth's musical, filmed at the Hudson Theatre in New York City.
Ratings
Curator score: 8.6/10
IMDb: 7.2/10
Letterboxd: 4.03/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 95%
Metacritic: 78
TMDB: 6.8/10
Director
Maria Friedman
Production
RadicalMedia, Sonia Friedman Productions, No Guarantees Productions, Chocolate Factory Productions, P-Cat Productions, Stephen Sondheim Trust
Cast
Jonathan Groff, Lindsay Mendez, Daniel Radcliffe, Krystal Joy Brown, Reg Rogers, Katie Rose Clarke, Max Rackenberg, Sherz Aletaha, Jacob Keith Watson, Corey Mach, Leana Rae Concepcion, Coby Getzug, Talia Simone Robinson, Jamila Sabares-Klemm, Evan Alexander Smith, Brianna Stoute, Christian Strange, Vishal Vaidya, Natalie Wachen, Morgan Kirner
Where to watch
Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads
Curator Review
Verdict
A richly performed, emotionally bruising proshot of one of Sondheim’s most admired musicals, with the reverse-chronology structure giving the story a tragic inevitability. It’s especially rewarding for viewers who like character-driven theater, sharp lyrics, and the ache of watching ambition corrode friendship and idealism.
Best for
Sondheim fans
viewers who enjoy filmed stage musicals
audiences drawn to tragic friendship dramas
people who like performance-first, actor-driven storytelling
theater fans interested in acclaimed revival productions
Skip if
you want a conventional movie-musical with cinematic scale
you dislike stage-bound presentation or close-up-heavy filming
you prefer light, plot-driven entertainment
you’re not interested in introspective, emotionally painful stories
Overview
This is a superb capture of a major Broadway revival, and the central pleasure is watching the ensemble navigate Sondheim’s intricate emotional machinery with precision and vulnerability. The reverse structure turns every scene into a memory with consequences, so even the bright early moments carry the shadow of what’s coming. That design gives the whole piece a rare sense of inevitability and regret.
Worth noting
The performances are the main event: intimate, funny, and devastating in turns. Jonathan Groff, Lindsay Mendez, and Daniel Radcliffe anchor the production with a mix of charisma and bruised humanity that makes the relationships feel lived-in rather than schematic. The songs land not just as showstoppers but as character revelations, which is exactly what this material needs.
Bottom line
As a filmed stage production, it will divide viewers. The camera often favors close-ups and polish over the full theatrical geography, which can make it feel less like a document of a live event and more like a curated viewing experience. But if you care more about the writing, the performances, and the emotional architecture than about preserving the proscenium, this is one of the strongest recent examples of the form.
Top Letterboxd reviews
girl (5★) · 1880 likes
see what happens if you don’t tell your crush you like them?? you become an alcoholic!!!!
Matt DeTurck (4★) · 1477 likes
Amazing performances.
My primary critique is how this filmed version is shot/directed: SO many close-ups, so few wide shots, no curtain call, no intermission, condensing of time, etc. it removes some of the stagy, theatrical trappings that I appreciate in a proshot. Yes, it’s amazing to be able to get closer to the actors’ faces or show different angles than we obviously could as an audience watching it live on stage. I’m not asking for a single camera on a tripod… more
teanstuff (4.5★) · 1315 likes
I need Evelyn’s take on all of this
Raina (5★) · 1239 likes
he’s goes 🎹 🎹🎹 and I go ⌨️ ⌨️⌨️and the phone goes 📞📞📞 and he goes mutter mutter mutter yes jerome mutter no jerome mutter mutter mutter mutter (that’s his lawyer jerome)
sincerely lucky to have seen this on broadway and see this pro shot and get to be alive when this notorious flop turned into a sucess perfected!!!! the perfect tragedy that ends with one of the most hopeful songs in musical theater!! I love ART that is is… more
carley :) (5★) · 1085 likes
look, sometimes things are made specifically for me. like, not everyone is going to enjoy almost three hours of jonathan groff on the precipice of tears while daniel radcliffe sings a patter song and lindsay mendez gives loaded looks to everyone. by the end of this movie, a regular person will be on their hands and knees using an ouiji board to converse with the dead and beg sondheim for a chorus. not me though! i loved it!