I had been waiting far too long to finally see I'm Still Here. I've been something of a Joaquin Phoenix (and Casey Affleck) fan in the past--loving some of their films, not really caring for others--and was interested to see exactly how they would pull this off. Especially since everyone--it would seem since day one--knew the whole thing was a hoax.
And not just because we were all told as much throughout the process of the filmmaking, but because we live in a society in which we all know nothing is no longer improvised. They can call it "reality TV" all they want, but there always writers, editors, and ultimately, producers who make sure things go according to plan. It's entertainment, not documentary.
Everyone gets nice mileage no matter if that publicity is good or bad when something goes seemingly "awry" whether it's Kanye West shoving aside a country teen idol or Justin Timberlake unlatching a bra. There are simply too many people involved and too much money at stake for anything to happen "by chance" or "on the spot" anymore.
More than anything, I'm Still Here is a firm testament to this sad reality. Nothing can truly go wrong anymore or be as strange as it once could be, because of everything from reasons of technical (five second delays, etc.) to financial (gotta pay that assistant).
With I'm Still Here, you're watching one long-running joke... all the while knowing the punch line. And what's really disappointing, is that we've seen this before, and much better executed by the likes of Andy Kaufman and early Sacha Baron Cohen.
What we end up with then, is a film with no tension or suspense. No cares or responsibilities. You're just watching Joaquin Phoenix jerking off all over the camera (more than once, almost literally) for an hour-and-a-half, and whereas this would make a somewhat funny YouTube video for five minutes, an entire feature-film just is too much.
Whether this kind of masturbatory self-indulgence was part of the Phoenix-Affleck plan doesn't matter as much as the fact that it's just not fun to watch. Almost from the get-go. It's impressive that they went as far with it as they did, but nevertheless, what they made was a film, not a concept. And though the concept might be worth a chuckle, the film is just flat, dull, and repetitive.
I think one way they could have made the film a bit more engaging, to take it to the next level, would be to have dealt more with the "is it a hoax or is it not a hoax" concept, even amongst Phoenix's own entourage. Instead, we end up with a film almost exclusively about Phoenix trying to hunt down Sean Combs all over the country in order to make a record he would never produce.
This was a singular opportunity for two very big stars at the top of their game to really exploit and expose a system they have embraced and in some ways have helped establish on a modern- day level. They could have really gone the distance, but instead decided to fall back on a simple fart joke that just isn't that funny, because we've heard it one time too many already.
It will be interesting to see what the boys do next...
And not just because we were all told as much throughout the process of the filmmaking, but because we live in a society in which we all know nothing is no longer improvised. They can call it "reality TV" all they want, but there always writers, editors, and ultimately, producers who make sure things go according to plan. It's entertainment, not documentary.
Everyone gets nice mileage no matter if that publicity is good or bad when something goes seemingly "awry" whether it's Kanye West shoving aside a country teen idol or Justin Timberlake unlatching a bra. There are simply too many people involved and too much money at stake for anything to happen "by chance" or "on the spot" anymore.
More than anything, I'm Still Here is a firm testament to this sad reality. Nothing can truly go wrong anymore or be as strange as it once could be, because of everything from reasons of technical (five second delays, etc.) to financial (gotta pay that assistant).
With I'm Still Here, you're watching one long-running joke... all the while knowing the punch line. And what's really disappointing, is that we've seen this before, and much better executed by the likes of Andy Kaufman and early Sacha Baron Cohen.
What we end up with then, is a film with no tension or suspense. No cares or responsibilities. You're just watching Joaquin Phoenix jerking off all over the camera (more than once, almost literally) for an hour-and-a-half, and whereas this would make a somewhat funny YouTube video for five minutes, an entire feature-film just is too much.
Whether this kind of masturbatory self-indulgence was part of the Phoenix-Affleck plan doesn't matter as much as the fact that it's just not fun to watch. Almost from the get-go. It's impressive that they went as far with it as they did, but nevertheless, what they made was a film, not a concept. And though the concept might be worth a chuckle, the film is just flat, dull, and repetitive.
I think one way they could have made the film a bit more engaging, to take it to the next level, would be to have dealt more with the "is it a hoax or is it not a hoax" concept, even amongst Phoenix's own entourage. Instead, we end up with a film almost exclusively about Phoenix trying to hunt down Sean Combs all over the country in order to make a record he would never produce.
This was a singular opportunity for two very big stars at the top of their game to really exploit and expose a system they have embraced and in some ways have helped establish on a modern- day level. They could have really gone the distance, but instead decided to fall back on a simple fart joke that just isn't that funny, because we've heard it one time too many already.
It will be interesting to see what the boys do next...