TEENAGE PAPARAZZO (USA 2010) **
Directed by Adrian Grenier

Documentaries fall into different categories.  The most common category has a strong message to tell which hopefully will change the world.  This includes films like AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH, THE COVE and FUEL, which did make a difference in the environment and the stoppage of the dolphin slaughter.

One other category of traces the life of an interesting character be it a celebrity like Hugh Hefner or Joan Rivers or just curious commodity like the over 60-year old bodybuilder in THE BODYBUILDER AND I or a long distance swimmer in BIG RIVER MAN.  TEENAGE PAPARAZZO examines the life of a 13-year old Austin Visschedyk.

One cannot feel manipulated when the film’s director, Adrian Grenier, himself a celebrity, stalked as well by paparazzi turns the tables on the paparazzi to make himself a quick buck with this so-called documentary.  He covers the life, fairly extensively of Austin, but still one cannot help but not forget that he is suing the paparazzi just as they were using him to earn a living.

For a film of this category, not research is necessary or is the research difficult.  One part has Grenier pretending to be paparazzi and doing the stalking so that he can feel what the life of one is like.  He doesn’t care that this does not come across the screen to the audience.  At least the film contains footage of celebrities (Paris Hilton, Matt Damon and Lindsay Lohan, to name a few) talking about paparazzi.  TEENAGE PAPARAZZO is not that insightful.  Often the interviewees tell the audience things (like all paparazzo are humans; they need to make a living) already known.

Thus, not much is really learnt in this film.  Grenier does go into the origin of the term paparazzi which is plural for mosquito in Italian.  Paparazzo is male, singular and paparazza is singular, female.

Worse till, the Grenier pretends that his doc will do good – i.e. change the life of one impressionable 13-year old.  He goes so far as to screen the completed doc to Austin’s mother and Austin, filming their reactions as well.  As they watch the film, the narration goes shamelessly over key parts of Grenier’s film. 

Though it would be too obvious and unbelievably corny to end the film with Austin admitting to change in his outlook on life, the ending (not revealed here) chosen by Grenier is appropriate but a bit of a cop-out.