Heckler (2007)

If there's one thing you can take away from Jamie Kennedy's documentary about hecklers and critics, it's that we should put more thought into our reviews and criticisms. Reviews like "This movie sucked!" or "Jamie Kennedy is a douche-bag" are the lowest common denominator when it comes to providing feedback. I'm sure I've lowered myself to that bar more times than I care to admit. So, in a sense, I feel Jamie succeeded in his pursuit to diminish, or at least improve the level of heckling in society.

Unfortunately, having had the opportunity to look behind the curtain at who Jamie K really is as a person, I found myself losing any respect I might have had for him. He assumes most of his audience, critics especially, are out to get him. That was never the case with me. Sure, he's no Steve Martin or Ben Stiller, but I never considered him an abomination like Bill Maher or John Lovitz.

In this film he confronts many of his harshest critics, which is a brave thing. But it's almost as if he's trying to make a case that critics should not exist at all, that people should feel sorry for disliking his material and then talking about it. I agree, hecklers are a-holes, and some critics go too far with their personal attacks. (Guilty!) But people should always be free to speak their mind. Just as he says that audience members should walk out of his show if they don't like his material, he should practice what he's preaching and not seek out negative reviews to read if he doesn't like what's being said about him.

For me, the best parts of the film are the many interviews by comedians, actors, and other celebrities. It's refreshing to hear them speak off the cuff. The last deleted scene, a story from Fred Willard, is one of the funniest parts, and should have been included in the film.

Rating: B-