I'm Still Here: Review By Paolo Sardinas

Jaoquin Pheonix, who made headlines two years ago with his announcement that he would be retiring from acting to pursue a rap career, gets his story told in the "I'm Still Here", an incompetently made doc*mentary that never was never able to grasp my attention. Directed by his brother in law Casey Affleck (Gone Baby Gone and Ben Affleck's kid brother) the film is never as interesting or as insightful as it could've been, would've been, or should've been.

This film, as previously stated, follows Joaquin Phoenix and his downward spiral to hell as he decides to retire acting in October 2008 and pursue a highly scrutinized rap career. Everyone of us (don't lie) saw his skills (or lack thereof) plastered on YouTube the week following his announcement and I was part of the large portion of people who were literally ashamed of being a fan of his. Along cam his infamous interview with David Letterman while he was promoting "Two Lovers." "I'm Still Here" provides us with everything that happened before and after those stints and allows a chance to become knowledgeable in the events and life of a once famed star. The only problem is that by the time the ending came around I just stopped caring about him.

Shot in a way that I suppose is to create the feeling of just how much he's lost it we (the viewer) are constantly put towards endless and repetitive viewings of Phoenix snorting cocaine of a hooker's breasts, running around nude, yelling at his assistants, vomiting profusely, getting drunk and continuing to vomit. We're even forced to sit through a rather unappetizing scene of one of Phoenix's assistants defecating on his face in the middle of the night. This is mainly what the film is composed of; scenes which offer absolutely no insight in to Joaquin Phoenix's downward spiral but instead give me a sneak peek into the next installment in the Jackass film series.

I also forgot to mention that we get to watch Joaquin's assistant (the one who loves to sh*t on his face) running around naked while getting his ass towel whipped by Phoenix.

"I'm Still Here" dwindles down to virtually nothing more than clips that seem to have been aired on TMZ that have been edited together (poorly I may add) into a full hour and forty minute feature. The goal of this film seems to be to show the public just how much we have fallen in love with sites like TMZ and morons like Perez Hilton. Yet, in the end, what's the point? There is no big reveal, no experiment, and no final conclusion to state any of this. Nothing gets taught or learned and the film becomes just as pointless or as irreverent as there things its protesting against.

Everything about "I'm Still Here" reeks of stupidity and tests the patience of an audience member. Whether this is intentional or not it really doesn't matter since by the time the ending came around I literally stopped caring and wasn't even remotely interested in anything that was happening. Throughout the film we meet several of Hollywood's celebrities. Including a scene with famed rapper and record producer P. Diddy. A scene which not only reveals just how fake the film really is but also allows us more things to complain about.

Rather educating or entertaining the audience, "I'm Still Here" pokes fun at them, making them the subject of some Gonzo gone wild social experiment. If the film is believed to be true than it had succeeded in proving how easily fooled the public is. If found to be false than the film loses whatever amount of purposefulness it had. In the end "I'm Still Here" seems to be an unnecessarily large gamble; which seems to really have nothing on the line. The ending is supposed to give you the sense that Phoenix is still here, the only problem is by that point, I wasn't.