My Favorite Year

Play trailer

My Favorite Year

PG

1982

1h 32m

Comedy

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

97%

Tomatometer

30 Reviews

84%

Popcornmeter

2,500+ Ratings

Fledgling comic Benjy Stone (Mark Linn-Baker) can't believe his luck when his childhood hero, the swashbuckling matinee idol Alan Swann (Peter O'Toole), gets booked to appear on the variety show he writes for. But when Swann arrives, he fails to live up to his silver screen image. Instead, he's a drunken womanizer who suffers from stage fright. Benjy is assigned to look after him before the show, and it's all he can do to keep his former idol from going completely off the rails.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Stream Now

Critics Consensus

My Favorite Year is a joyful ode to the early days of television, carried with a deft touch and Peter O'Toole's uproariously funny performance.

Read Critics Reviews

Pauline Kael

The New Yorker

09/19/2023

As the guest from Hollywood -- the peacock Alan Swann, who is part John Barrymore and part Errol Flynn (maybe the best parts of each) --O'Toole is simply astounding.

Go to Full Review

Derek Malcolm

Guardian

03/24/2023

It is clearly O'Toole's film, and he is superb at playing the O'Toole of every gossip-writer's most cherished wish.

Go to Full Review

Michael Sragow

Rolling Stone

06/21/2022

My Favorite Year is a film that rises -- and sometimes soars -- on the beauty of its central idea and on the loving, intelligent way it’s been fleshed out.

Go to Full Review

Richard Propes

TheIndependentCritic.com

09/17/2020

4.0/4.0

My Favorite Year, with the possible exception of Lawrence of Arabia, is my favorite Peter O'Toole performance.

Go to Full Review

Molly Haskell

Vogue

02/27/2020

My Favorite Year turns aggravated mayhem, assault, and hammery into comic gold.

Go to Full Review

David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

02/25/2020

3/4

Filmmaker Benjamin delivers a lackadaisically-paced yet generally entertaining comedy that benefits substantially from the leads' superb work...

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

Dee

03/04/2024

Slow start but the rest did not disappoint ! Loved it!

See more

Russ G

Mar 3

Peter O'Toole, a notorious drunk and rake, channels one a generation earlier: Errol Flynn, after whom the "In Like Flynn" phrase was modeled.

See more

Lydia T

@Lyddie Feb 23

Perfect casting and very funny.

See more

Chris B

Feb 22

Hilariously written and performed. Wonderfully romantic depiction of the Golden Age of television.

See more

rhinohouse

11/02/2024

My Favorite Year is a joyful ode to the early days of television, carried with a deft touch and Peter O'Toole's uproariously funny performance.

See more

Nadine H

01/21/2024

Probably my favorite movie of all time. O'Toole is phenomenal.

See more

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Richard Benjamin

Director

Peter O'Toole

Alan Swann

Mark Linn-Baker

Benjy Stone

Joseph Bologna

King Kaiser

Jessica Harper

K.C. Downing

Bill Macy

Sy Benson

Fatso

29%

65%

Fatso

Watchlist

Overboard

46%

74%

Overboard

Watchlist

Hearts of the West

91%

45%

Hearts of the West

Watchlist

The Toy

3%

54%

The Toy

Watchlist

Author! Author!

50%

49%

Author! Author!

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

Synopsis

Fledgling comic Benjy Stone (Mark Linn-Baker) can't believe his luck when his childhood hero, the swashbuckling matinee idol Alan Swann (Peter O'Toole), gets booked to appear on the variety show he writes for. But when Swann arrives, he fails to live up to his silver screen image. Instead, he's a drunken womanizer who suffers from stage fright. Benjy is assigned to look after him before the show, and it's all he can do to keep his former idol from going completely off the rails.

Director: Richard Benjamin
Producer: Michael Gruskoff
Screenwriter: Norman Steinberg, Dennis Palumbo
Distributor: MGM/UA Home Entertainment Inc.
Production Co: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Brooksfilms
Rating: PG
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 1, 1982, Original
Release Date (Streaming): May 1, 2008
Runtime: 1h 32m

Most Popular at Home Now