Child Star

Famous childstars on average die 14 years earlier and they have a 4 times increased chance of dying by suicide. Those are the grim statistics behind this documentary which gives a detailed insight into the Disney childstar Demi Lovato... whom I have never heard of but apparently she was HUGELY popular.

We mostly get to see demi lovato talk to other childstars (Drew Barrymore and Christina Ricci for instance) and the recurring theme is that almost all of them suffered from their huge fame and started to use drugs and alchohol to cope with a life they had no real control over.

These childstars are being squeezed out for every penny they can make and the more popular they become the more a product they become up to a point that certain childstars became wall street products which could be sold and bought at the stock exchange! Currently the childstar content is valued at over 500 billion dollars.

Incredible to see how these kids are being treated. Money, money and more money is the culprit behind this behaviour towards these kids whose only dream is to become famous, but adults wanna make money of their fame. The way in which money overrules the healthy development of childstars' lives is what this documentary is all about.

This documentary starts out unassuming and without the bleak and grim statistics, but have some patience and please watch it till the end, because then you get to see the real damage done to this famous childstars...

This is one show that canvasses the importance of mental health and its effects on child stars from the 1980s to today's rising YouTube sensations. Lovato's compassionate conveyance of such sensitive information is profound and features several A-list stars who faced the same struggles she, very publicly, has faced while working in the entertainment industry. This documentary is relevant for a wide range of demographics, from legal experts and healthcare workers to alcoholics and kids from the 80s, 90s, and today. This film encompasses how, for some celebrities, achieving fame is a miraculous dream and a hellacious nightmare for others.

Some directors like to make themselves a part of the project, much to the detriment of the project. Nas is guilty of making himself part of docs he directs. Demi Lovato apparently does the same. This is a movie about her experience with child stardom, with some comments from other people who experienced similar. That being said, nothing was new in the doc, just rehashed information she previously included in other projects, with one exception: most states, Florida included, don't have Coogan Laws to protect the income of children; similarly, there seem to be zero (or one with Washington State) that protect child internet performers' incomes. Otherwise, the doc is a massive waste of time.

"Child Star" is a documentary featuring Demi Lovato. It ostensibly is about the damage that occurs to child stars...on TV, in movies and on the internet. However, at times it seems more about Lovato in particular and a few of her friends and not the broader topic of child exploitation.

If you are looking for an exposee which shows the damage done to child actors by their parents and movie/TV studios, you can do MUCH better than this one. While the documentary talks about SOME of the issues concerning the exploitation of kids in the media, it also seems like it's very careful to excuse the studios and parents. Well, if they aren't to blame for the exploitation....why is?? And, it doesn't surprise me that the film is distributed by Disney...a corporation with a VERY bad history of child stars who run off the rails.

The film also seems to be leaving out a LOT in regard to Lovato. While it talks about her recent projects and SOME of her difficulties, it all feels very sanitized and leaves out some very important questions...such as about her parents' involvement in creating some of these problems. The father is never mentioned and her mother is pretty much given a pass. Overall, a mildly interesting film but one that manages to miss the mark.

I was impressed first off with the range of child stars she was able to talk to that have had success after child stardom and were a variety of ages. To be honest I don't think there is any revelations that you will learn from this documentary that you wouldn't already know if you follow the lives that many child actors have had. With the names they were able to get I guess I just wish there was a bit more substance. One thing I wish these documentaries would cover more is the internet side of exploitation with people using children however I think that will have to wait till the children now are older. One thing I did find a bit interesting was seeing Scooter Braun was a producer given the ages of people he has signed and their own issues with fame. Also, why is Keenan wearing sunglasses the entire time, there was absolutely no sun in that diner. I think if you are interested in how child acting can affect the kids this is an okay watch.