'I'm Still Here'

'I'm Still Here' (R) (3 stars)

Director: Casey Affleck
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Casey Affleck, Sean Combs, Antony Langdon

"I'm Still There" is a self indulgent and badly shot documentary but it is downright hilarious. Joaquin Phoenix is a very talented actor who comes from a very famous family that were reared for stardom since they were little. Joaquin Phoenix has given some very good performances in his career but a documentary just for him really can't be justified. The only reason anyone should care is because the public is fascinated by Hollywood stars who crash infamously. Joaquin Phoenix announced that he was quitting acting and going into a rap career. In a now infamous appearance on "The David Letterman Show", Phoenix showed up looking terrible with an unkempt beard and sunglasses. He mumbled a lot and was very incoherent and everyone assumed it had to be a publicity stunt or fake. Was it performance art or a way to get people to buy into and follow his new ambition, rap music? Or is this someone who has mental problems and is having his sanity slowing slipping away? The movie follows Joaquin as he abuses his assistant Antony and tries to set up a meeting with Sean "P Diddy" Combs to see if he will produce his rap album. There is also the David Letterman interview shown in it's entirety. After that performance we see Joaquin pull over his car and start to have a nervous breakdown. That is pretty much the whole movie except for a few rap performances that are terrible and incoherent even for rap music.

This is a movie that a lot of people will hate but I had a great time laughing at this train wreck. Some people will think this is fake and some will find it real. There are parts of this movie that just seem too convenient. The film is credited to writers and a lot of scenes just seem to be staged. Maybe the movie is partly staged but all real. I gave up trying to figure it out after a while because whatever it is it seems fascinating like stopping and looking at a car crash. The David Letterman interview is fascinating and funny. Also when Joaquin pitches his rap album to Combs it is tense, uncomfortable and finally hilarious. Joaquin's music seems horrible but it could also be that way on purpose because it sounds like a joke sometimes. The movie is directed by his brother-in-law Casey Affleck and it is a bush league job but it is still an effective movie. I was a huge Andy Kaufman fan and he was a comedy idol to me growing up. The man knew how to flawlessly blend a mix of phoniness and reality and his experimental comedy was genius. If this is a hoax it is not is brilliant as Kaufman's work but if it is real then Joaquin Phoenix needs guidance and he might just have destroyed his acting career. Maybe he doesn't care if he really is quitting but this Howard Hughes type act is dangerous but fascinating and very funny.