This raw and explicit documentary, directed by Bobcat Goldthwait, is not for the faint of heart and certainly not for everyone. It traces the life and career of the acerbic, rageful, and cynical comic Barry Crimmins, who has now become a leading children's rights and safety advocate.
Early on in the movie, Crimmins sets the tone by stating his two main goals, that of overthrowing the U.S. government and closing the Catholic Church, and as the film progress we find out why he feels this way. The doc traces Crimmins' early years in Skaneateles, New York where he began his comic career, to his move to Boston where he established a comedy club in the Chinese restaurant The Ding Ho, that eventually became a breeding ground for many known comics of today.
About halfway through the movie, it takes a radical shift relating a 1992 monologue where Crimmins graphically revealed for the first time in public his horrific sexual abuse when he was a child. This led to a tireless effort, often at the expense of his own health, to be an advocate for children's safety.
These were the very early days of the Internet, and Crimmins discovered in some AOL chatrooms vile and disgusting transmissions of child pornography, and devoted much of his energy to try and get AOL to close them down, to no avail. At the time apparently, this was still regarded by some as a free speech issue and not criminal activity like it is today.
This was demonstrated in the film, by a Senate Judiciary hearing where Crimmins was invited to testify. He was able to confront the smarmy Asst. General Counsel of AOL, and state his case to a panel of Senators who embarrassingly professed their ignorance of what the Internet even was. Of course today, child pornography has become a severely prosecuted crime in the United States.
In summary, although certainly not for everyone this explicit documentary was one I took a lot from, led by Crimmins' deep seeded attempts to battle some powerful evils in society, and maintaining his integrity while doing just that.
Early on in the movie, Crimmins sets the tone by stating his two main goals, that of overthrowing the U.S. government and closing the Catholic Church, and as the film progress we find out why he feels this way. The doc traces Crimmins' early years in Skaneateles, New York where he began his comic career, to his move to Boston where he established a comedy club in the Chinese restaurant The Ding Ho, that eventually became a breeding ground for many known comics of today.
About halfway through the movie, it takes a radical shift relating a 1992 monologue where Crimmins graphically revealed for the first time in public his horrific sexual abuse when he was a child. This led to a tireless effort, often at the expense of his own health, to be an advocate for children's safety.
These were the very early days of the Internet, and Crimmins discovered in some AOL chatrooms vile and disgusting transmissions of child pornography, and devoted much of his energy to try and get AOL to close them down, to no avail. At the time apparently, this was still regarded by some as a free speech issue and not criminal activity like it is today.
This was demonstrated in the film, by a Senate Judiciary hearing where Crimmins was invited to testify. He was able to confront the smarmy Asst. General Counsel of AOL, and state his case to a panel of Senators who embarrassingly professed their ignorance of what the Internet even was. Of course today, child pornography has become a severely prosecuted crime in the United States.
In summary, although certainly not for everyone this explicit documentary was one I took a lot from, led by Crimmins' deep seeded attempts to battle some powerful evils in society, and maintaining his integrity while doing just that.