Plot Outline
Rick Kirkham got his first video camera when he was 14 years old. It became his best friend and confidant. From that point on, he began documenting every facet of his life. He got his first break in TV as a dancer on American Bandstand. A little nudge from Dick Clark to pursue a career in television and he was on his way. He quickly rose through the ranks from local TV news to a gig as a national correspondent for Inside Edition. His girlfriend then got pregnant, and they got married. Everything was golden…or was it? The flip side of his life was another story, and his camera shockingly captured both with the same candor and vigor. What unfolds in TV Junkie is a riveting journey into the heart of darkness, where one manís fight for survival is caught on tape in an unprecedented way. A self-imposed The Truman Show with a dark twist, TV Junkie transcends one man’s tragic story and becomes a harrowing reflection on a generation obsessed with celebrity and technology. Utilizing more than 3,000 hours of footage, director Michael Cain and co-director Matt Radecki tackle the Herculean task of editing it with intelligence, compassion, and honesty to tell this unbelievable story that is both a cautionary tale and a gripping portrait of a TV Junkie.Review Summary
HBO apparently started some addiction line of 'shows', this being one of the flagships, I guess.The Review
This review isn't exactly a spring chicken, nor is the movie. It's almost two years old, and the footage ranges from 10 - 20+ years. I'm writing this review
A) Because I wasn't writing reviews when I first saw this film a year ago and
B) After seeing it again, I felt it deserved a review.
HBO apparently started some addiction line of 'shows', this being one of the flagships, I guess. Basically it's Rick Kirkham documenting his life, and it's an experience.
He started video taping journals in his early years, and continued on through his life. He was a successful news man for Inside Edition for many years, and through most of it suffered many bouts with drugs. Namely cocaine. The viewer is taken on one of the most tragic rides ever thrust upon the public and just when you think he's learned and everything may make it okay..it only gets worse.
Not the movie, mind you, but his spiral downward. It's really a sad tale and a must see. Like I said, I saw it a year or more ago on HBO late night and was really taken aback by it. It came on again, late night and I watched it again..only this time it hit twice as hard since I've become a father in between viewings.
It's a tough pill to swallow seeing someone on top of the world, great wife and two baby boys, and allow it all to come crashing down due to a terrible addiction to crack-cocaine. It was especially rough to see how self involved Rick became when the cops were called, and his 4 year old son was crying, confused as to what was happening with mommy and daddy. It really tore me up to see a kid go through such a tough childhood, and who knows what kind of adolescence, because of his fathers addiction.
Everything you see is all 'home video' that either Rick or his wife recorded during a good decade of his life, maybe less. From what I've read, he never watched any of the footage he shot, until it came time to make this film.
It's unnerving, uncomfortable, tragic, startling, and brilliant.
Brilliant because it serves as a cautionary tale and hopefully wake up call to anyone out there. It's also one of the best documentaries you'll ever witness.
hit up www.tvjunkie.tv for more info, and to order the film. It's a definite must buy.