Heckler (2007)

So, I've been very quite lately. Some because of work, but a lot because of this movie. I choose it because I enjoy hearing basement banter about the comedy world. I also, love documentaries. Documentaries would be hard for me to talk about so, I wanted something that could be enjoyed. It started with the basement banter but the movie, Heckler, is so much more. According to IMDb:

HECKLER is a comedic feature documentary exploring the increasingly critical world we live in. After starring in a film that was critically bashed, Jamie Kennedy takes on hecklers.

Synopsis

The movie is mingling of interviews with comedians and recordings of on stage acts. It starts off with comedians telling what hecklers are, re-telling horror stories of heckling and how they each decided to deal with the unruly. 

There then is a shift in the directions. "Why do people heckle?" Throughout the movie, scenes will stop, have text on them, and present another question. It's with this question in particular that the focus shifts from comedians to comedians and public figures at large. There's even a clip of President Ronald Reagan being heckled and how he responded. This serious shifts occurs only 10 minutes into the movie, but isn't jarring. More and more, we leave the realm of heckling and take a broader look at criticism in general, and the motives those who do it. Up until the last 15 minutes it was a great documentary that offered the "artists'" perspective on criticism. 

Thoughts

One thing that really stood out for me and something that I enjoyed, was the arrangement of the movie. This might be because I'm slightly OCD about organization, but it's something worth commenting on. As I described earlier, there are still shots with questions presented, and then 5-10 minutes of people talking about/answering that specific questions. With each question, the tone of the movie is slightly more somber. Thus, slipping into a conversation about criticism at-large, seems natural. Documentaries should capture real emotions and life how it really is. This movie does that. 

It's easy to be think this movie might be about a bunch of famous people complaining, but it's not. There are times when Kennedy comes off a little snotty, but it seems more as an act, kind of a comedy tick he has a hard time turning off. The people interviewed are all honest about times they bombed or about how, even though they've been in the business awhile, some stuff hurts.

To me, this wasn't really a comedy movie. Yes, there are comedians in it, and just moments are funny, but it's not a comedy. It's an interesting look at the nature of criticism. 

Jamie Kennedy is the tour guide of this movie. He's interviewing people who have gotten heckled, you see him bomb on stage, but he's also goes and meets those who have not just heckled him, but criticized his movie(s). I had mixed feelings about the time Kennedy was on screen. There were moments that were nice, but there were also a few unnecessary moments.

I won't talk about the last 15 minutes. I think the point was made and then someone forgot to edit off the last bit.