Free Great Movies Review

Instead of having a real-life celebrity breakdown, Joaquin Phoenix created his own cathartic satire of a Hollywood breakdown with an all-out effort to hit rock bottom. While celebrity reality TV and mockumentary had grown exceedingly tiresome by 2010, Phoenix and Casey Affleck breathed new life into the genre. Unlike the funny shenanigans of Borat, Phoenix's portrayal of his own mumbling, strung-out self is that of a sad, nihilistic asshole who periodically says something funny. Because everybody knows Phoenix and not everyone knew Borat, Phoenix has his work cut out for him to convince people it's not a hoax, but he never breaks character and seems genuinely stoned throughout this movie. The acting roles of those around him are mixed, as anyone who seems in on the hoax tends to give an amped-up, dramatic performance reminiscent of a reality TV show. The dead giveaway is Ben Stiller, who hasn't ever had a serious moment on camera in his life and gets into an obviously fake argument with Phoenix (Stiller's fake satire of Joaquin at the Oscars was much more convincing). But the brief appearance of Edward James Olmos is more disturbing as he's either giving Phoenix a real heart-to-heart or a nauseating fake heart-to-heart. The film as a whole is rather nauseating as Phoenix satirizes the everyday life of a ludicrously wealthy celebrity, making fun of the media blitz, the hip-hop scene, the publicists, the fans with their cell phone cameras, the YouTube critics, and the vapid club girls who come back to Phoenix's hotel room. It's bound to piss almost everyone off with its vulgarity and narcissism, but Joaquin really puts himself out there, and it's one of the most punk rock movies ever made. This movie launched the more adventurous second half of Phoenix's career with great roles in movies like The Master (2012), Her (2013), Joker (2019), and Beau Is Afraid (2023).