Director: Andrew Renzi
Cast: Charlie Sheen, Chuck Lorre, Jon Cryer, Denise Richards
Have I Seen It Before: Nope.
Did I Like It: Once again, my three criteria for a documentary: 1) Is it technically competent. 2) Is it interesting? 3) Does it have enough access to its subject to have something unusual to say.? The greats are balanced in all three, many can claim only the first criteria.
This is an unusual case. I would say it certainly has the third criteria down, and it intermittently succeeds on the second part. I’m a little underwhelmed, however by the first. Yes, everything is shot correctly, and the filmmakers make the correct choice to format the entire film like one of the 8mm films Sheen, his brother, and his friends made as boys. But there is a sameness here that sours much of the product. There’s even a music cue, I swear, was pulled directly from OJ: Made In America (2016).
But back to where the film succeeds. Sheen has given enough access to the filmmakers, and at times is uncomfortably honest enough that one tends to think we’re getting something approaching real here. It might all be self-serving, and there may be things that aren’t addressed and sufficiently edited around.
I would have loved to seen Martin Sheen weigh in, but it’s completely understandable that he wouldn’t want to appear on camera. Stories told about him third hand—especially his circumspect toast at Sheen’s third wedding—are a highlight. The other element I was surprised by, and this might be enough to recommend the movie, are the interviews with Sheen’s second wife, Richards. A Bond movie here, and a Verhoeven movie there, and you may have an image of Denise Richards in your head. These interviews disassemble that image pretty thoroughly. Either she is a far tougher, far smarter person than the 1990s allowed her to be, or her interviews are a canny performance, and she is a far better actress than the 1990s allowed her to be.
As with some of the great documentaries, I’m content to stay with the mysteries this film lets linger.