Teenage
Paparazzo is a
documentary film that
focuses on a teenage boy (named Austin Visschedyk) working within the
paparazzi
snap-shot world and whom actor Adrian Grenier (one of the stars of
HBO's hit
television program Entourage) encountered
taking paparazzi photos one night. The results of this encounter led to
the
idea formulating inside Grenier's head to make a documentary feature
about the
boy and how obsession with celebrity in our culture can lead to someone
so
young becoming a part of the paparazzi. The end result of this
documentary being
made is getting to experience one of the best and most important looks
at
celebrity obsession ever filmed. Teenage
Paparazzo is an unforgettable experience.
Grenier
interviews all sorts of individuals over the
course of this documentary to try and uncover more about how
celebrities are
treated in today's culture and why people would choose to be paparazzi
in the
first place. Interviews are conducted with many celebrities (and I
assume most
would rather not be named - though Paris Hilton seemed to be an
especially
involved participant). Grenier also talks to psychologists, additional
paparazzi, magazine editors (of the celebrity gossip variety), and
perhaps most
importantly to the parents of Austin (Grenier wisely remains more
observant and
less judgmental with this aspect). These interviews are utterly
fascinating and
will help to educate any audience member who wants to gain a better
understanding of paparazzi and celebrity culture.
The
film raises a large number of rather important questions
and while it doesn't really try to provide 'definitive' answers its
gives a lot
of insights into why things might be the way they are and as a result
my mind
was firing on all cylinders after the viewing. I wanted to be able to
try and
formulate why I thought paparazzi existed, why teenage paparazzi would
exist,
and all of these other serious questions. It even made me start to
ponder my
own relationship with celebrity culture and my own fascination with
public
figures. I even began thinking about my thinking process behind trying
to find
a "perfect shot" with taking screen-grabs for this review. Was that in
some way
making me a paparazzo? I'm not sure of
the answer, but what I do know is seeing a documentary that allowed my
mind to
branch off into internal monologues is something I don't often
encounter and
that left me impressed.
The film was more fascinating than I could have ever
imagined it being when I decided to watch it initially as I had mixed
expectations about the film with Adrian Grenier directing it. For
whatever
reason (likely the result of my experiences watching Entourage)
I doubted that Grenier would be able to bring enough depth
to this documentary project. While that belief didn't stop me from
viewing the
film it was certainly a completely unfair assumption that I held. What
did I
know about Grenier in reality? Beyond a false impression of him that
had formed
in my mind because of a CHARACTER he
plays on a television series I didn't know anything about the guy. This
documentary displays someone who seems quite unlike the character he is
famously known for - no douche-bag attitude at all. Adrian is someone
who seems
deeply concerned with the subject of his film -- the paparazzo Austin Visschedyk - and
why
it is he's mixed up in the crazy world of Paparazzi. This is especially
noticeable
by the time the film has concluded and while viewers will be left with
their
minds buzzing over the ideas presented and explored the most important
aspect
(that being the well-being of Austin) is not ignored and that is
something that
brings the documentary full circle in a meaningful way.
The
DVD:
Video:
Teenage
Paparazzo is
presented in the original theatrical exhibition
ratio with enhancement for widescreen 16x9 HDTV televisions. The actual
aspect
ratio shifts throughout various scenes (as the film was shot using
multiple
sources and with different styles). This means some parts are 4:3 full
frame,
other shots are 1:85:1 widescreen (the most common ratio by my own
estimation),
and that some scenes were created with multiple full frame ratios
displaying at
the same time (in different spots of the screen). The image quality
remains
mostly consistent. This is a good looking documentary film with strong
colors,
impressive depth, and visual clarity. The direction of photography is
excellent
and is well represented with this presentation. I noticed no glaring
issues
that would detract from the experience.
Audio:
For
a documentary feature I was surprised to find that Teenage
Paparazzo included a 5.1 surround sound option which
featured decent separation and allowed the music featured in the film
to sound
more enveloping. Spanish 2.0 audio is also included. Subtitle options
are
available in English, French, and Spanish.
Extras:
There
aren't a ton of extras here and that is certainly not something that
really surprises.
An audio commentary with Adrian Grenier and Austin
Visschedyk would have been pretty neat and it is kind of disappointing
that nothing like that was included on this release. What does this
release
have then? A number of short pieces are included under the banner 'Snap Shots'. These are actually deleted
scenes that are separated based upon their overall focus points. I
enjoyed
these pieces almost immediately and while I could understand why these
elements
were cut from the final version of the film it was also clear why they
were included
on the DVD release. These are excellent moments of additional footage
that
would be worth watching for any fan of this documentary.
Final
Thoughts:
Teenage
Paparazzo was an
eye-opening
documentary experience that brings to light a lot of things crucial to
trying
to understand Paparazzi and our celebrity culture. It
also examines a young man stuck in the
midst of it all in a way that is genuinely compelling and important.
The most
surprising thing about the film is its ability to be both entertaining
and
informative at the same time, and that will ultimately help it to be
both more
appealing and necessary for audiences of all ages to visit and explore
further.
This is an impressive debut by Adrian
Grenier as a documentary film-maker and it is well worth owning. Highly
Recommended.
Neil Lumbard is a lifelong fan of cinema, and a student who aspires to make movies. He loves writing, and currently does in Texas.
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