The Red Pill

The Australian premiere at the Palace Kino cinema in Melbourne cancelled their planned November 6 screening after a petition circulated that called the film "misogynistic propaganda".[17][18] The Change.org petition gained 2,370 signatures.[17] A counter-petition to reverse the decision gained close to 5,000 supporters[17] in the following days, characterizing the original petition as an "effort to close down free speech in Australia" by those who wished to prevent "a screening of a movie that discusses issues that they fear might interfere with their agenda."[17] Organizer David Williams was critical of the original petition, stating that nobody who signed the petition would have seen the film.[19]

The Mayfair Theatre in Ottawa cancelled a private screening of the film.[7][20] Lee Demarbre, co-owner and programmer of the theater, said long-time patrons and a sponsor threatened to stop doing business with the venue if the film screening went ahead.[7] The screening was organized by the Canadian Association for Equality (CAFE).[7] Justin Trottier, co-founder of CAFE, said that the screening was an attempt to find common ground instead of polarizing the debate.[7] Julie Lalonde, who runs Hollaback! Ottawa was one of several people who made complaints to the theater.[7] She said the idea of freedom of expression was being abused, and that "no one has the right to have their film shown."[7]

A screening had been planned by the Wildrose on Campus club at the University of Calgary, an organization for student supporters of the Wildrose Party of Alberta, but was cancelled after an email about the screening was sent out by the club with the subject line "Feminism is Cancer" and beginning "You and I both know that feminism is cancer. To create a dialogue on campus, we have decided to take action." The club later posted an apology to Twitter and cancelled the screening.[21] In response to the controversy, Jaye said she would never equate feminism with cancer but "would be curious why do they think that."[22]

After initially agreeing to finance a student screening, Sydney University's student union defunded the event, claiming the film promoted violence against women.[23] In a public post on its website, the union said "We believe there is the distinct possibility that the planned screening of this documentary would be discriminatory against women, and has the capacity to intimidate and physically threaten women on campus".[24] The screening was moved back a week and had to be financed privately by the clubs that had initially organized it.

Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes has given the documentary a 29% rating based on 7 critic reviews, with an average rating of 4/10.[25]

Katie Walsh of Los Angeles Times said the documentary "lacks a coherent argument" because it "is built on a fundamental misunderstanding" of key terms. Walsh said the terms could have been better defined "to comprehend the ways in which patriarchal systems control resources to exploit both women and men". She recognized that "there are many dire and urgent troubles men face that should be addressed" but concluded of the documentary, "[It] only exacerbates that divide with its uncritical, lopsided presentation and inability to craft a compelling argument regarding a topic this controversial."[26]

John DeFore of The Hollywood Reporter said, "Cassie Jaye's The Red Pill is clumsy and frustrating in many ways. But it demonstrates enough sincerity and openness to challenging ideas — letting representatives of this problematic movement make their case clearly and convincingly — that one wishes it were able to look at multiple sides of this debate at the same time." DeFore summarized the film as "an admirable attempt at evenhandedness whose journalistic and aesthetic failings dilute its arguments".[4]

Alan Scherstuhl of The Village Voice, critical of the men's rights movement, considered the film's production quality weak due to being Kickstarter-funded and highlighted that it was campaigned for by A Voice for Men and Reddit's men's rights forums. Scherstuhl considered the documentary to be "amateurish" with weak visuals. He said, "What the film and the movement fail to demonstrate is any kind of systemic cause. Instead, the author of men’s troubles here is always that vague bugaboo feminism, which we’re told is designed to silence its opponents."[14]

Cathy Young of Heat Street gave the film a positive review, saying it raised important issues that often go undiscussed and made "well-deserved" criticisms of feminism. She criticized the film for failing to devote attention to "the dark side of the men's movement", and stated that the film would have benefited from onscreen discussion of the subjects in which MRAs are on "far shakier ground".[27]

Corrine Barraclough, of the Australian tabloid newspaper The Daily Telegraph, said "the message of The Red Pill is compassion" and the film made her "wonder why feminists tried so hard to silence this crucial conversation."[28]

The Red Pill won three awards at the 2017 Idyllwild International Festival of Cinema: "Best of Festival", "Excellence in Directing Documentary", and "Excellence in Producing a Documentary".[29][30] Cassie Jaye also won the "Women in Film Award" at the Hollywood Digifest Festival for her work on the film.[31]