I couldn’t stop watching these celebrity documentaries

Posted on by 20poorandfabulous

These Speidi and Amanda Bynes documentaries will change the way you think about celebrity

If you were obsessively reading Perez Hilton circa 2007 until he went soft (aka just became a different brand of ginormous asshole), these movies were MADE for you.

Will Rebein, the creator of these addicting as fuck documentaries, repurposed video from tabloids (lots of TMZ), tv shows and interviews to recreate a different story about a few of our favorite tabloid celebs. I very literally could. not. stop. watching.

His two documentaries focus on Speidi and Amanda Bynes. In Speidi, you get to watch the infamous couple spiral out of control from their days on The Hills to body dysmorphic disorder-induced plastic surgery to spending their fortune on MAGIC CRYSTALS. The body dysmorphia is really interesting to watch because you see Heidi turn into a numb person, probably caused by a combination of becoming famous too fast, having a terribly manipulative boyfriend and reading countless comments about her “horse face.”

What’s even more fascinating is that Speidi details a weird time in pop culture when celebrities were controlled WAY more by the media before social networks like Twitter or Facebook were the number one way for famous people to communicate with the outside world. Before then, it was allllll through paparazzi videos, tabloid articles and statements made to the press instead of pressing “send” on your smart phone. So worth it to watch.

Amanda Bynes in “I’m Not Crazy”

I’m Not Crazy shows you how Amanda went from cute child comedy prodigy and “good girl” Hollywood actress to a tabloid obsession struggling with, at the time, undiagnosed mental illness. Amanda later reported on Twitter:

Learning that Amanda Bynes is living with bipolar disorder and manic depression really makes you pause and think about what it means to make fun of any celeb who is “acting crazy!” in the press.

By far the worst thing I saw in I’m Not Crazy is a paparazzo relentlessly touching Amanda and pulling down her hood so he could get a picture of her. That scene makes you feel SO terrible, watching a paparazzo violate a mentally ill person’s personal space like that. And all to make a buck so shithole magazines can sell stories about mentally ill rich women to equally shithole humans so they can make fun of them. Gross AF.

rude
rude

Once dubbed the “3 Bimbos of the Apocalypse,” Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton all make an appearance in I’m Not Crazy. Britney’s especially hits you hard as a viewer (or just me because I’m a huge, forever Britney fan) because she too suffers from mental illness. It’s really sad to see how she was treated by paparazzi, but what’s even SADDER is that at times the paparazzi seemed like Britney’s only real friends.

Anyways the docs are sad, incredibly poignant and provide a lot of commentary on the power the media and society have over famous people. Seriously worth the watch if you are obsessed with dissecting pop culture, fame, society and even mental illness.

Let me know if you watch them and what you thought because I’d love to hear how you felt about them at @ktbcolors on Twitter, on Facebook here or in the comments section.

 

Netflix nightcap: Adaptation

Posted on by 20poorandfabulous
Image via netflix.com

 Adaptation for me was always one of those movies you remember hearing about during some Oscar season a decade ago, but were too young to care about or to even understand.

The film takes you to Hollywood where an overweight, unhappy and absolutely self-conscious/insecure Charles Kaufman (played by Nicolas Cage) is a screenwriter struggling to adapt a book about a cray-cray orchid thief Floridian named John Laroche. Charles is having trouble adapting a book about flowers and one peculiar man into a Hollywood-type film, so he goes to New York to meet the writer of the book (played by Meryl Streep) who he’s been secretly obsessing over. He really doesn’t have a way with women, this one.

Charlie’s twin brother Donald, also played by Nicolas Cage (what CAN’T he do?!) is the sunnier side of the egg. He’s kind, sincere and also a screenwriter, except he writes action thrillers instead of deeper, emotional pieces. They end up in New York together to meet Streep, as a way to gain better insight into her character for the screenplay, and chaos ensues! Hint: They go to Florida and some crazy shit goes down. (When doesn’t crazy shit happen in Florida? Dexter, anyone?)

Chris Cooper is amazing in all his roles. Granted they are normally mean, scary or insanely creepy. Image via movies.zap2it.com

It’s refreshing to watch a movie with a interesting plot. Can you even remember a time? Now that they’re turning boardgames into movies (Ya, seriously?! Hollywood is SO coked out), it’s a real treat to watch something with an original thought somewhere in its midst.

Nicolas Cage is amazing in this movie. You may be used to seeing him in horrible trailers for those skull-fucking blockbuster movies he makes every couple of years, like National Treasure and Ghost Rider. However, mixed in with his movies that make him shameless millions are little gems like Adaptation. Meryl Streep and Chris Cooper are fantastic in this film, as are Tilda Swinton. Maggie Gyllenhaal, although a small part, is in the flick too. AAAnd part of the movie is “behind the scenes” of the amazing movie Being John Malkovich. You have to watch that one too, because it is GENIUS and creative. Do it! Reruns of Parks and Rec can wait!!

Listen: New Order’s “Bizarre Love Triangle”

Posted on by 20poorandfabulous
Image via rcrdlbl.com

This is one of those songs that you know you’ve heard, but can’t place where from. Probably from everything. Movies, stoned kids’ basement, a particularly hip store. Take a listen to a great song, and my latest wish-I-had-an-ipod-hookup-in-my-car-god-dammit track.

PS: Try a New Order Pandora station. HOLY SHIT.

“Bizarre Love Triangle” by New Order

It 80s-ly reminded me of the song “Pop! Goes My Heart” from the Drew Barrymore and Hugh Grant movie Music and Lyrics. Now I see they are nothing alike, but in my head they were way more similar. I totally like that movie. There’s nothing super SUPER great about it, but it feels fresher than your run of the mill romantic comedy. Plus there is pop music everywhere, and the soundtrack has some originals that are baller too.

Netflix nightcap: Biutiful

Posted on by 20poorandfabulous
Image via criticsatlarge.ca

Javier Bardem plays Uxbal, a black marketer who can talk to spirits and was recently diagnosed with terminal cancer. A through and through dramatic, sad yet honest and beautiful portrayal of a peripheral life in Spain. I’ve always enjoyed Spanish films, as they have this ability to show the uncomfortable truths about life that Hollywood can’t seem to cope with.

If you feel like weeping and want to watch a BRILLIANT and perfect performance of a dying man, watch Biutiful. Javier Bardem is more than phenomenal. Everything had me crying. The acting, the storylines, the people, everything. To watch a dying man tie up his affairs while dealing with every shitty thing that could possibly happen is an astounding look into the human character.

It also makes me want to hug every single person on the planet just because.