Review of The Kid Stays in the Picture

Somewhere in this grating, self-congratulatory exercise in ego-mania is a fascinating documentary about one of the most talented and successful players in the history of Hollywood. By sealing it all up in a stiffing first-person bubble, though, Robert Evans and the film makers turn what could have been a great journey into the equivalent of being stuck on an airplane with someone who can't shut up about himself. All biographies have a point of view. I've never seen one, though, that insists on giving the viewer ONLY one perspective to the point that the main character is the only one allowed to speak, quoting other people in irritating (and in some cases racist) caricatures while continuously employing false modesty, name dropping, and hackneyed "homespun" quips meant to sound like hard-earned wisdom. They should have printed 15 copies of this film and passed them around to friends and family of "The Kid" in the title. Considering the flood of quality documentaries that have been released in the last decade, the general Viewing public deserves something better.