Gives us the Pacino of ordinary deeds, bumbling around and having his experiences, and we see that he is in service—in thrall—to Pacino the actor. And if a certain fuzziness or impressionism attends his memories, well, we get it: He doesn’t want to violate, with too much insight, the precious mystery at the core of his craft.
Discursively soulful ... The eccentricity of Sonny Boy is part of its charm, and the book’s distinctive voice speaks to a fruitful collaboration between Pacino and Itzkoff ... Shot through with what certainly feels like self-deprecating honesty to go with the well-worn Pacino swagger.
Breezily readable ... [A] sense of voice and aliveness...is what’s best about Sonny Boy ... The push and pull between being open and taciturn, between acute self-awareness and occasional cluelessness, continues throughout the book.