Childstar (2005)

***CONTAINS Spoilers*** This film was very disappointing; it started of with a bratty 12-year old boy and his brattiness is completely explained by all those who surround him. One hopes that he will be redeemed by the end of the film somehow - but this does not happen and neither he nor anyone else comes out with nicely at all. It concerns me that neither his mother or anyone else was worried to see a 12-year old lose his virginity to a "purchased" bimbo and then moving on to alcohol and drugs (well he was smoking what looked to be a joint near the end). It didn't help that the boy star was obviously not 12 but probably more like 15 or 16 and was far more aware of things than a 12-year old should have been. It would have been better if there had been a good resolution at the end with Taylor becoming more personable and NOT still on the downward track to self destruction which he obviously was....

We get a whiff of the "child star" of the title on the flight that is bringing Taylor Brandon Burns to Toronto to play one of the starring roles in a movie project. Not only is he rude to the flight attendant, his own mother, a cheap wheeler dealer, capitalizes on the fact that it's the attendant's word against her son and demands compensation in the way of extra mileage points and upgrades. These two are a rotten pair!Don McKellar, the talented writer-director, pokes fun at the Hollywood movie industry and the arrogance and lack of professionalism when they go to different parts of the world to appear in front of the cameras, something most Canadians involved in the process of making movies have probably witnessed a lot.We caught with this film not too long ago on a cable channel. It was a lot of fun because Mr. McKellar, who also appear in the film, takes the viewer behind the scenes to show what really go on. Mark Rendall, who plays Taylor, bears a similarity with Macauley Culkin, is one of the best assets in the picture. A subdued Jennifer Jason Leigh, with her usual style is also effective as Suzanne, the manipulative mother of the child star.Don McKellar also appears as the driver assigned to take Taylor around. Dave Foley seems to be having a good time playing the producer and Michael Murphy is seen as the actor playing the father to the egotistical Taylor. Kristin Adams has an excellent opportunity as the love interest of the young star.

How could anyone even remotely think this was any good? How could anyone call this pretentious art-house anything? I like art-house stuff and this came nowhere close to anything resembling art.I imagine that only friends of the film makers have commented here. The comments that compare the director/star to Wooody Allen are absurd and laughable. The only funny aspect to this DVD was watching the Making of Child Star and seeing people praise this guy. It looked like Alan Thicke was doing what someone else told/paid him to say when he commented on how Don reminded him of Woody Allen.I thought the whole thing was supposed to be a farce, but then it appeared like the film was really earnestly serious about preaching how child stars have such a tough life. I am not kidding . . . this movie became didactic about this point.One of the finer points of the movie was when an adult model has sex with the twelve-year-old star and nobody calls the police. The statutory rapist is portrayed as a hero in a non-ironic way and becomes the open girlfriend of the child star.I don't usually care too much about plot, but this plot was disjointed (not that this is always a bad thing, but here it is) and retarded.

THis movie was comic genius, and is my favorite Canadian movie ever, Finally someone has made a film that manages to be thoughtful and funny at the same time. All of my friends loved it too, though some of them thought the ending was a bit incomplete. I disagree! It was fun, and touching, and never schlocky or stupid. And Don McKellar is hilarious! In fact, most of the actors were great, including the young boy (I forget his name) who plays the kid. I guess, as a Canadian, the film makes more sense. I hope Don Mckellar keeps making strange films like this and Last Night (his first one) because no one else is doing anything this interesting AND accessible, with the possible exception of Guy Maddin's last movie.