Heckler: The Documentary

A couple days ago, I was surfing through YouTube looking for clips of Maria Bamford doing standup. Go ahead, judge me if you want, but it eventually led me to a documentary posted in six parts called “Heckler”. It was co-produced by and stars Jamie Kennedy and I think it creates a really interesting narrative. Some people (including a bunch who wrote comments on YouTube) think he made it because he’s a big whiner, but the whole thing is pieced together with parts of interviews from a couple dozen comedians, actors, directors, critics, etc., so it’s way beyond one person saying, “Boo hoo, people are mean.”

In retrospect, it seems I’ve played both roles: the person being criticized (e.g., being on the first season of Beauty and the Geek) and the critic (e.g., writing about later seasons of Beauty and the Geek). I hadn’t thought much about it before, so it’s led me to a level of introspection that some people in the documentary probably wouldn’t waste their time on. (Incidentally, those people can suck it.)

I thought I could write down some of those insights down on paper… computer screen… which combined with watching the videos might lead to some revelations of your own. (Two people posted it in six parts; I decided to link to the account that put clean breaks between the parts as opposed to switching in the middle of sentences. However, this one cut out the final credits that the other left in, which includes a few more interview clips and Danny Trejo telling any critics watching, “I know where you live.”)

I’ll write more later, but if this has piqued your interest at all, watching the video below is the place to start.