Casting JonBenet

I thought this might be interesting, a juxtaposition of a teleplay production about the Benet case combined with actual documentary information. Alas, the film contains literally zero facts, just auditioning semi-pro actors offering their personal thoughts about certain aspects of the case. These people aren't any different from your average Joe, offering up largely uninformed opinion on the few bits and pieces they recall from 25 years ago. There are a couple of moments of humor, but probably the most signal moment is the sex educator guy demonstrating his flogging equipment on camera, as if that had any bearing whatsoever on the Benet case. Yeah, it was kinda funny in an awkward way, but man, talk about desperation on the part of the film makers.

You can't properly call this film a documentary, it is just a series of talking heads and not very interesting or well-informed ones at that. I get the impression the actual Jon Benet production stalled out for some reason and the producers were left to salvage some kind of experimental pseudo-documentary in order to get a partial return for their investment. Unfortunately, it completely fails to inform or engage the viewer and honestly just comes across as a crass exploitation of the Jon Benet name in order to draw eyeballs. I fell for it, you shouldn't.

Fascinating performances by Colorado local actors. Who would have thought this state garnered so much talent. I was memorized by personal stories told by Hack Hyland, Suzanne Yazzi, Kit Thompson and Ronda Belser. This film is less to do with JonBenet and more to do with human emotions.

I believe the earlier reviews here are trying to make this documentary into something it's not, and judge it for something it's not trying to do. This is not yet another whodunit, and we're not asked to reexamine the evidence or create new theories. I certainly did not see it as another exploitative money grab that this tragedy seems to attract. This was a look beyond the crime itself; it was a fascinating exposé on how the general public interacts with true crime by exploring -on set- the thoughts and feelings of unknown (and CO local) actors and actresses on one of America's most notorious murders in modern history. What makes this documentary so great is not the casting or acting by any means - it's the film's ability to grasp onto these people's stories and perspectives and allow us to see ourselves in them. There's a thousand theories about what happened that night, but rather than drag the viewer through another dozen of them, the viewer is allowed to see just how deep society's fascination with mysteries and tragedies goes. Rather than mocking or exploiting the death of this little girl, it encourages us to ask ourselves why we form such personal attachments to the losses of others and why we are so curious about the darkest, most deviant human behaviors.

This movie was not what I thought it would be. It innovates the genre of documentary. It is a fresh way to tell an old story. Be prepared to see something new.

I'm surprised by some of the reactions from other reviewers. I assume they think we should let this horrid crime drift into history. And because it involved a poor, innocent little child, I really do get their point. The girl is innocent even if we're not sure who else is. But should we just "let it go" and not push for an answer? Someday, perhaps new DNA testing will tell us WHO and then JB will get a bit of her well-deserved justice. If we forget, simply because it was tragic, then we allow the guilty to walk free.

I never review films on IMDb, but I had a particularly strong reaction to this one. It started out as an intriguing concept, and I was very impressed with the creative vision of the film, which seemed like it could add a new layer of commentary to a tired, old story...That impression lasted for about 10 minutes. After that, the film very quickly devolved into a one-note gimmick, which somehow managed to be disturbing, ghoulish and often boring at the same time. Ultimately, I was left with a hollow feeling of numbness about this murder, as well as the non-professional actors profiled. The film felt so craven in its blatant exploitation of the crime (as well as the interviewees). It was downright grotesque if you give more than a passing thought to the fact that it's all based upon a child's murder...one that has been examined ad nauseam over the course of the past 20 years. In the end this film felt like more of an exercise, or an experiment gone awry. It had no heart, or center. It was utterly empty.