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7 Reviews
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250+ Ratings
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delysid d
a remarkable film about drug addiction
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
07/18/19
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Audience Member
This movie was a brutally raw depiction of the perils of drug and alcohol addiction. It certainly has that going for it if it has nothing else. There was a mesmerizing quality about watching this reality television-esque descent into madness. You are sort of held in place by this uneasy certainty that death is virtually right around the corner for Kirkham the whole time.
As you go on this journey with Kirkham it might dawn on you that he is one of the more unlikable characters you've encountered in a biographical documentary. I gotta admit it was a little hard to root for him. Here is where my problems with this film begins. It isn't so much the nasty reality of his addiction or his virtually overflowing well of victimhood that makes him so hard to watch. You expect these things from an addict. It is the fact that you never at any time get the sense that you're watching a real human being. That is also expected for an addict. But the camera itself is where the rub lies.
It seems that one of the deeper stories in this film is the elephant in the room that the movie never touches. That's the story of this man's insatiable and somewhat narcissistic appetite for filming HIMSELF. While it is both ugly and fascinating to watch on some level you almost have to suspend disbelief to really buy the premise here which is that you are watching and listening to a real person instead of watching a persona reporting about a real person. The more I watched and listened the more I began to believe that this man was a TV junkie not just for his constant need to film, but for his constant need to be the guy ON TV.
In fact it all started to seem like this was just another Inside Edition adventure piece for Kirkham. His greatest adventure yet- The one where he train wrecks his life and reports about it in real time. At times I found myself wondering which addiction was more psychologically deadly- The camera or the crack? It seems that Kirkham was not only pushing a button on that camera, but also pushing a magic button that turned him in to reporter Rick Kirkham doing the story of his life, instead of just being Rick Kirkham living his life while being filmed. That's the difference in this movie and a show like A&E's Intervention for instance. This is not a show about a guy with an addiction. This is a guy (a REPORTER) with a crack addiction making a TV show about his life. He's the crack reporter on the scene (pun intended) chronicling every harrowing incident in riveting detail no matter how horrible it might make him appear. And why is that?
The film's end explanation for that "why" requires a suspension of disbelief that I simply don't have. I won't spoil it for you, but I'm not convinced that I am being told the truth. If this film's ending scenes are to be believed I'm not convinced that Rick Kirkham is telling himself the truth yet either. I do hope he's pushing the record button a lot less these days because this is a documentary with a sequel that no one would want to see.
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
02/20/23
Full Review
Audience Member
This is a Frank look at a narcissistic junkie who films every moment of his life. We see the good, but especially the heart wrenching lows.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
02/03/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Tragic, yet frustrating watching him throw his life away for drugs.
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
02/09/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Ubehagelig nærgående om nedrig adferd! Modig gjort av mannen å stille seg selv i så hinsides dårlig lys. Makalaust om dopbruk og all tulle adferd som følger med det! Smertelig film!
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
02/27/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Starts off interesting - then heads into harrowing. Seriously, I thought this guy was going to end up dead by the end of it. Very brave of him to tell a story that puts him in such an unflattering light to help others avoid drug addiction.
I felt so sorry for everyone in this - everything his wife and kids went through, and for him himself, as obviously a lot of it was the drugs talking.
Really good documentary, but not always easy watching.
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
02/22/23
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Cast & Crew
Owen Gleiberman
Entertainment Weekly
A mesmerizing documentary trip to hell.
Sep 20, 2013
Full Review
Scott Foundas
Variety
In the final stretch, when TV Junkie brings on the triumph-over-adversity homilies, it not only rings false, but downright creepy.
Mar 1, 2006
Full Review
Jared Mobarak
The Film Stage
TV Junkie wears its authenticity on its sleeve through heavily tracked video recordings and abrupt cuts courtesy of the camcorder's lack of finesse, but that's part of its impact.
Rated: B
Jun 28, 2016
Full Review
Chase Whale
ChaseWhale.com
TV JUNKIE is one of the most compelling documentaries I've ever seen in my life.
Dec 15, 2013
Full Review
Nathan Rabin
The Dissolve
TV Junkie's strength lies in its brutal, unfiltered rawness and intensity. As an assemblage of uncomfortably intimate footage, it's utterly compelling and memorable.
Rated: 3.5/5
Aug 19, 2013
Full Review
Mike McGranaghan
Aisle Seat
This is the best movie about addiction that I've ever seen.
Rated: 4/4
Aug 14, 2013
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