Addicted to Fame (2012)
*** (out of 4)
In 2005 director David Giancola began work on a low-budget science fiction spoof that was clearly headed straight-to-DVD without much fan fair but then Anna Nicole Smith happened. This documentary has all sorts of behind-the-scenes stories because the film, ILLEGAL ALIENS, turned out to be a gigantic publicity boost when Smith's true life horror show put it on the map. At first it was all good publicity because of Smith's case over her late husband's will was heading to the Supreme Court but soon it took a darker turn when her son and eventually her were dead. ADDICTED TO FAME isn't a masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination but I thought it was quite fascinating simply because you really haven't gotten to see a film like it. Yes, there are some good documentaries out there dealing with low-budget filmmaking but none of them featured a media storm like Smith and it's interesting to see what having someone like her in your movie can do. Not only that but the last year of her life was just so strange and bizarre that it brought on all sorts of stories that just put more fuel on the fire. I really thought it was fascinating getting to hear from the director and producer of ILLEGAL ALIENS who were one day benefiting from the news and then the next being destroyed by it. The film also offers up a lot of stuff from the shooting of the movie and it's clear that Smith wasn't very pleasant to work with and caused all sorts of problems. Is ADDICTED TO FAME an exploitation movie? Are they taking advantage of Smith's fame and death? I'd say so but then again so has every other television station, newspaper and magazine. The difference is that those here actually worked with the woman on her final picture.
*** (out of 4)
In 2005 director David Giancola began work on a low-budget science fiction spoof that was clearly headed straight-to-DVD without much fan fair but then Anna Nicole Smith happened. This documentary has all sorts of behind-the-scenes stories because the film, ILLEGAL ALIENS, turned out to be a gigantic publicity boost when Smith's true life horror show put it on the map. At first it was all good publicity because of Smith's case over her late husband's will was heading to the Supreme Court but soon it took a darker turn when her son and eventually her were dead. ADDICTED TO FAME isn't a masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination but I thought it was quite fascinating simply because you really haven't gotten to see a film like it. Yes, there are some good documentaries out there dealing with low-budget filmmaking but none of them featured a media storm like Smith and it's interesting to see what having someone like her in your movie can do. Not only that but the last year of her life was just so strange and bizarre that it brought on all sorts of stories that just put more fuel on the fire. I really thought it was fascinating getting to hear from the director and producer of ILLEGAL ALIENS who were one day benefiting from the news and then the next being destroyed by it. The film also offers up a lot of stuff from the shooting of the movie and it's clear that Smith wasn't very pleasant to work with and caused all sorts of problems. Is ADDICTED TO FAME an exploitation movie? Are they taking advantage of Smith's fame and death? I'd say so but then again so has every other television station, newspaper and magazine. The difference is that those here actually worked with the woman on her final picture.