Crazy Richard (2002)
Written and directed by Dean Francis & Katrina Mathers

Despite an intriguing premise, Crazy Richard comes off as what it probably is: a fake documentary cranked out on DV by a group of drama-club friends over the course of a weekend. It purports to tell the tragic tale of Richard Veed, a famous child actor from a popular 80s sitcom, whose later descent into drug abuse and depression leads him to an early death. Which his friend captures on film while doing an intimate documentary about his life.

The acting is atrocious, making the folks from Blair Witch seem like the Oliviers and Hepburns of our time. The editing is above-par, as is the music (at least for this kind of production), but the budget is just not there to support attempts at realistic-looking entertainment-news TV coverage and music videos (a supposedly satirical crack at a Britney-styled video fails horrendously).

While I'm sure the folks involved had lots of fun, I can only call for a moratorium on improvised, homemade "mockumentaries" at this point.

Review by The Widowmaker