Audience Member
Fairly interesting portrait of Crocker and the idea of new internet celebrities in general.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
01/27/23
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Audience Member
a window into the life cycle of a viral video super star and the addictive nature of fame, Me at the Zoo is another good doc from HBO. The film chronicles the rise of you tube and viral videos through the life and times of Chris Crocker of "Leave Brittany Alone" fame. through his compulsive and constant video taping reminiscent of Thierry from "Exit through the Gift Shop", Chris is established as a fish out of water in his remote Tennessee town and his only solace and portal for freedom and personal normalcy is through the Internet. as he rises to internet stardom, the proverbial shit get closer and closer to the fan and concludes to a spectacular burn-out and bittersweet rebirth for Chris. definitely get around to watching this.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
01/25/23
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Audience Member
Very good documentary about Chris Crocker, shows a lot you never knew and gives you back round about how he grew up. I really liked how it showed how Youtube took off and reminds you what happened to Britney Spears when he made that famous video. It just pretty depressing at points of what happened after that video when viral and basically his down fall from that. The one thing I didn't like was how it ended, they could have done a better job with that one thing. As for the rest of the movie it was a great documentary, and everyone should check it out even if you didn't like him. HBO did a great job.
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
02/20/23
Full Review
Audience Member
I saw this at Sundance. Here's a shorter version of a review I wrote:
I haven't seen most of Chris Crocker's videos, but I've seen enough to form a positive opinion of him. I was familiar with his situation-of how he lives in a very small town in the South, where everyone hates him because he's gay. He was bullied all through middle school, so for his own safety, he skipped high school. In the documentary, Chris said that he had to be home schooled throughout his high school years, but that this was a difficult situation because his grandma, with whom he lives, had to work. In the Q&A, Chris announced that he dropped out in 8th grade, so I assume the home schooling thing didn't really work out. Regardless, Chris Crocker remains an intelligent, creative young man with a good heart. The documentary filmmakers portrayed him as such, using clips of Chris' videos, youtube video responses, and footage the documentarians filmed themselves.
As a kid, Chris was bullied in his homophobic town, so he was forced to stay at home all day with a video camera as his only friend. Through his myspace page and youtube channel, Chris has made thousands of fans and enemies alike. His life has been threatened. Someone created a video game in which the user can physically abuse a cartoon Chris Crocker, and no doubt, thousands have played it. Chris, who has always dreamed of being a celebrity, embraced his gaining popularity and exploited it as he took on the ridiculous personas his critics have characterized him as. For example, he took the obsessed Britany Spears fan to a new level, recording a video of himself saying the now infamous statement: "Britany Spears is a natural treasure. Who cares about 9/11?" To me, this was obviously a joke-an exaggeration, one of the many 9/11 jokes created since it was no longer "too soon" to make fun of the historic event. Chris' timing, uploading the video on the anniversary of 9/11, might be considered tasteless, but it was a joke nonetheless, and ppl like me laugh at things like that. Chris' mom is an Iraq War vet, and he has so much love and respect for her that anyone who knows this would know Chris was just being a controversial comic.*
In the Q&A, Chris admitted that he shouldn't have created the 9/11 video. It went viral, and he lost many fans as a result. I guess most ppl just don't have Chris' humor (and mine). The Chris that I saw in the Q&A corroborated the directors' characterization. Chris IS a nice guy. Chris IS very self-aware. Chris IS very witty. Chris IS intelligent. He makes a living out of his popularity, even though he's not too relevant anymore. But the present Chris is a lot more mature than the Chris who became an internet celebrity. He won't ever do another offensive 9/11 video. He wants to go back to school and he wants to help LGBT youth who face the similar bullying he suffered as a kid.
I loved this movie and I gave it the highest rating in the audience ballot. HBO picked up the film and will show it in the spring. If you have HBO, make sure to watch it.
*I'm not saying 9/11 was connected to Saddam in anyway. But certainly, 9/11 made Bush's Iraq War possible.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
01/27/23
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