Lisa Picard Is Famous

Lisa Picard Is Famous is a film that never achieves greatness, but comes close to deconstructing that nebulous and intriguing world of fame. Numerous movies have been made on this subject, but Lisa Picard Is Famous is the first that follows an actress on the verge of stardom, and where the "impartial" documentarian (Griffin Dunne) makes sure she gets there. This breakdown of observer and subject is the central theme in this movie, reflecting the generalized tendency of the average person's inability to resist the temptations of fame and stardom. Watching this movie and the antics of Dunne and Picard, I wondered who wanted to be more famous, the director who wants respectability, or the actress who just wants work and money. This dynamic of observer and subject works well to inject laughs and insight to the phenomenon of fame, including some memorable encounters with the likes of Mira Sorvino, Sandra Bullock, and Spike Lee (Buck Henry appears to make wry observances, including this gem: the root word "fame" is derived from "famine"). One example is the hilarious scene where Picard, in all seriousness, compares her appearance with famous celebrities, and the director complements the absurdist moment by adding their faces on the screen, inviting the audience to made the ridiculous comparisons. Without giving away the ending, it was of great interest to see that no matter how much energy was expended on Picard's career by Dunne, chance plays an unexpectent and important role to derail Dunne's self-serving needs; proving that fame may be more of a random act, than a self-charted destiny.

"Lisa Picard Is Famous" is a mock-umentary about, the struggle and the sacrifices one makes to get to fame. This of coarse is taken with all comic-fun otherwise it would be a worthless film. Laura Kirk is perfectly fit as Lisa Picard, and Sandra Bullock shows up in an awkward slightly wasted scene thats nevertheless a nice touch. The film is taken with such stupid slapstick that it is hard not to laugh even if it is mostly predictable. One of the main focuses is the friendship between Lisa and Tate and how it is nearly terminated, done comically well, hits a little too close to home than one would expect from this kind of film. LPIF is not really breaking any new ground, its just fun, not to mention it has a cool movie title.. try saying it a few times to people.. it makes you seem like you really "know" movies with quoting such a little known farce! **Attention All Aspiring Actors**... if this film teaches you one thing... its that most of you really should re-evaluate yourself, give it up to save heartache, or (to put it boldly) admit to yourself that you really don't have what it takes... After all it is truly a shot in the dark, even if there is a little "Lisa Picard" in all of us.

Griffin Dunne (son of famous scribe, Dominick Dunne) seems bent on becoming famous himself. Why I do believe he'd go as far as to star in a film about a talking penis. Dunne is just one of those people who seems obsessed with that which eludes him, fame. With only one break out performance in 1981's American Werewolf in London, Dunne is simply on the fringe of success.

This is the problem with Lisa Picard is Famous.

Like Dunne's career, it is idle, has little to say and is almost -- just a hair more and it could have been -- with more time, maybe. And there you have it. Mr. Dunne's career mirrors this movie.

Chris Guest's mockumentaries, "Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show and the now legendary "Spinal Tap" is what Dunne and his co-conspirators were aiming for. Sadly, the comedy in the film is forced. The all ad-lib dialog might have worked if DeWolf and Kirk were stronger performers. But if you'll note, Kirk's only offering since this film is the flower seller in ill-fated Time Machine" and DeWolf has done nothing since.

To pull off such a crazy stunt as this, the film needed a new direction, a fresh idea on the old theme. It lacks spontaneity. It revels in stereotype. And all those friends of Dunne and Sorvino (she produced it) who made guest appearances during the film discussing fame, didn't reveal anything we didn't already know. Furthermore, their cameos felt forced and a bit of an intrusion to the main story line.

The bottom line with films such as these (mockumentaries) is liking the characters. I did not like Lisa and utterly hated the "stereotyped to death" gay actor. With this said, the only person I felt for was her boyfriend, whose name I didn't catch. Lastly, I say to the "famous people" exploited in the film, "Shame on you for associating yourselves in this fashion."

I wasn't looking forward to seeing Griffin Dunne's film from the start, especially knowing that it was a "mockumentary" about fame. As well, I was quite skeptical about the use of the DV format to give the film a realistic look. However, I was pleasantly surprised...at least for the first half of the film. Famous is one of those movies that doesn't know how to end. It's very funny - the "Wheat Chex" gag is hilarious! And I have to give credit to anyone who humorously uses a Charlie Sheen cameo (Spike Jonze included). Unfortunately, the film runs out of steam and the comedic possibilities are wasted. The cast is solid, and the film's subversive feel must be praised. For Dunne, this could be the direction he could be looking for in terms of further projects. Alas, with this project, he is treading the familiar ground of "Spinal Tap" and "Waiting for Guffman," two highly superior projects that set the standard for all mockumentaries on the same subject.

Lisa Picard Is Famous is a clever mockumentary directed by Griffin Dunne that follows an aspiring actress while she strives for stardom. The humor is extremely subtle and dry, and I found myself actually laughing out loud a whole lot more than I would during your average Hollywood-industrialized comedy. It is well acted, well executed and definitely worth watching just to catch some of the many absolutely hilarious celebrity cameos. (Most notably Spike Lee, who looks like he is about to crack up at any second). Before this viewing, I only had a passing knowledge of Griffin Dunne's work and after this biting film I plan to keep an eye out for his future productions.

--Shelly