I'm Still Here (I) (2010) User Reviews

Real or not, it's an engaging roller coaster ride.

[Shattered_Wake · 7/10 · 26 November 2010]

Just two years after receiving an Oscar nomination for his powerhouse performance as Johnny Cash in 'Walk the Line,' actor Joaquin Phoenix shocked show business by announcing his retirement from acting to pursue a career as a hip hop musician. 'I'm Still Here,' directed by Phoenix's brother-in-law and fellow actor Casey Affleck, tells the story of the star's life change. Supposedly.

After Joaquin Phoenix's apparent mental breakdown which came in the form of a legendary David Letterman appearance and a beard to rival that of Zack Galifianakis, many people in & out of the film industry fought to uncover the validity of Joaquin's retirement. Shortly after the release of the 'I'm Still Here,' questions were answered when Phoenix & Affleck admitted their worldwide prank saying that, from the beginning, it was all a hoax. If this admission is true, this film will become one of the most believable & ridiculous hoaxes in a long, long time.

Regardless of whether 'I'm Still Here' is actually a hoax (or if the hoax is a hoax, attempting to cover up the breakdown of Phoenix), it is still quite an entertaining film. However, due to the seemingly obscene subject matter throughout the film, it's hard to truly believe that any famous person would allow it to be shown publicly, risking a hugely negative backlash. We see Joaquin snorting coke (off hookers' breasts at one point), spanking naked men with towels, ordering female escorts, and other low-grade behaviour. If all of this actually DID happen without elaborate staging, then I send full respect to Mr. Phoenix for having the courage to allow it to be shown on screen like this.

One issue that the film does have comes from the overall style. While the story, content, etc., are all exceedingly engaging, the actual visuals of the film were almost unbearable. In a low-budget documentary like, say, the recent 'Catfish,' amateurish cinematography & direction are almost expected. However, when a documentary is being produced by two successful actors and is directed by someone who has been working on film sets for twenty years, this bottom-level style just does not work when the validity of the film's content are already in question.

Overall, however, the film does work well as a whole. Joaquin Phoenix, whether he's playing himself or the insane version of himself, is impossible to not watch, even with his constant arrogant and selfish behaviour throughout. If you watch along believing it just might be real, it will be an emotional roller coaster ride. Even if it is all a hoax, though, it's still one hell of a crazy ride.

Final Verdict: 7.5/10.

-AP3-

I'm Still Here has a number of interesting elements that elevate it beyond an extremely elaborate joke

[Likes_Ninjas90 · 6/10 · 5 October 2010]

In 2009 actor Joaquin Phoenix appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman as a dishevelled, spaced-out madman. His bushy beard, dark sunglasses and slurred sentences suggested that the Academy Award nominee had lost touch with his career and his own sensibilities. This interview was meant to be a promotion for Phoenix's turn into rap music. This mockumentary is set before and after the infamous interview, with Phoenix's brother-in-law Casey Affleck looking to record his transition from Hollywood star to rap rookie. The film pry's open Phoenix's decent into madness as he pursues drugs, hookers and even some help from musician turned actor Sean 'P. Diddy' Combs. Gradually, Phoenix's erratic behaviour and weirdness takes a toll on his friendships and his image in the media's spotlight. The question that has surrounded the film though is "was any of it actually real?"

Prior to seeing I'm Still Here I was disappointed that director Casey Affleck announced that his film was a fake. I expected this to break the illusion of his mockumentary. The decision was presumably made by Affleck to save his reputation as much as Phoenix's from near-ruins. How could he let his brother-in-law capitulate like this and what was the point of recording it? To answer this, it's important to note that Affleck has described the project as not a hoax but a film in a number of interviews. Beneath the wreckage of I'm Still Here, specifically the crude behaviour of Phoenix, the film's over length and its moments of sheer self-indulgence, there is a message here that sustains, regardless of whether we know the film is a fake or not. It comes through most immediately when Phoenix opts to sleep through the Obama Inauguration on television. The idea of American accomplishment is a frequently unreliable one for him. His attempts to move away from the boundaries of Hollywood only lead him to another industry that is just as regulated. He quickly discovers that life is a lot harder without the red carpet. He has to wait on other people to contact him for once. His team can't even arrange a company car for him and he takes great offence to people asking if his career change is a hoax. As much fun as it is to be in on Casey Affleck's 'joke', since there are awkward moments of hilarity, I'm Still Here is acceptable as a proper satirical film because of its messages about celebrity culture, the highs and more frequent lows.

What is most surprising about I'm Still Here is how involving it becomes because of the authenticity with which it has been made. The film looks deliberately grubby. It's been shot with a shaky hand-held camera to provide the regularly muddy visuals and natural lighting. Small touches, like the way Affleck's camera peers 'secretly' on the edge of a doorway as Phoenix talks to someone, add to the film's illusion. There has been some thought placed into to film's ugliness but there's also a lack of restraint too. There are a lot of scenes that have presumably not been cut to give an authentic edge, but it wears us down with its claustrophobia. The centre of the film belongs to Phoenix and whether this is an act or not he is a truly convincing crackpot, through and through. His capitulation, through not only his disintegrating looks but his treatment of his friends seems so real it becomes almost unbearable to watch. Testament to Phoenix's 'performance' is that despite knowing the film isn't real, it still becomes involving. When the film returns to the Letterman interview and we hear the audience laughing, there is a different set of emotions for us having seen Phoenix's self-destruction to get here. Rather ironically, it makes us feel for him.

I'm Still Here has a number of interesting elements that elevate it beyond an extremely elaborate joke. The indistinguishable moments shared between what is real and fake and the ideas surrounding celebrity culture are encapsulated in Phoenix's regularly disturbing 'performance'. It is a shame that for many viewers these merits will be lost to the film's grating flaws. The roughness of the picture, specifically how long some scenes are and how juvenile the behaviour becomes, will for many make this a regularly confronting and difficult film to sit through.

Great but not meaningful

[LANGUISHMAN · 6/10 · 24 November 2019]

I enjoy this film for what it's trying to do. On one hand, it's great for the criticism that it is trying to convey. Poking holes and making a mockery of the entertainment industry and how the obsession of artist can become fear and anxiety for the artist's themselves. All of these themes play into the story very well and in no way was the narrative boring or wrong. However, it acts itself as a documentary which is one of its biggest problems.

A mockumentary is an attempt of making fun of something, fictional or real; its purpose is to entertain the audience. While a documentary attempt to inform or educate the audience. And from these two definitions, that's one of the biggest that I have with the film. It doesn't know what it wants to be or what it could be.

If you want to make a mockumentary, then there need to be more humour and more ridiculous jokes, and the film doesn't know what or when it should be funny. Its style of 'documentary' is just so unconnected and unreal that you need to question whether or not Joaquin Phoenix was acting at all. That is one of the biggest problems with the film. What do you take seriously and what should you think is just funny? I can't tell whether or not it meant to be funny or not.

A washed-up person ruining his own life and manipulating people's emotion so that he could make a point is fine because it's a choice to make. But when the audience already that you are clearly lying about what you are doing it just felt like a big joke and nothing more. I could see the message being productive and I could see its technicality being great. But when you failed at making a convincing film that the actor's experience is their genuine experience, what is there to think that it's a real film? Or a documentary? Nothing. You simply don't know whether or not the film is worthy of being great. If I know that his emotions are illusions, then I would see no genuine emotion. It lacks meaning because of it. There is simply no meaning behind this film, it doesn't change Joaquin Phoenix's life nor does it change the audience mind towards Hollywood. It is shallow when it comes to a meaningful story.

Overall the narrative is great, its technicality is great. The fact that the other actors stay true to their roles is great and enduring as well. Its biggest and determining factor lies in its meaning, which it falls short on every level.

A great experiment in gauging the cost of being original...

[EricNorcrossDotCom · 28 December 2010]

Society wants us in our place, whether we're big stars or the common worker. This is proof that even those on top of the world can fall if they try to do something original, unique and personally rewarding. With that said, I highly enjoyed this piece, although I can't say I expected to. I thought it would be a joke, something to laugh at and yes, while there were parts that were funny I couldn't help but to be taken aback by a message, whether intended or accidental: we are a mean society. our expectations are for us and not those around us. We are greedy. We laugh at others when maybe we're not supposed. We criticize when we shouldn't.

This isn't a film about the actor/rapper in question - it's a film about us and the consensus: we're really bad people.

-E

Joaquin Phoenix on a Whole New Level

[gavin6942 · 6/10 · 14 November 2012]

Normally I start a review with the plot. Let me share what another writer used as their description of the plot. The Los Angeles Times reported that the film featured "more male frontal nudity than you'd find in some gay porn films and a stomach-turning sequence in which someone feuding with Phoenix defecates on the actor while he's asleep". Also, we have Phoenix "snorting cocaine, ordering call girls, having oral sex with a publicist, treating his assistants abusively and rapping badly." That about sums it up.

I really hope Sean "Diddy" Combs was not in on this, because his reaction to Phoenix's music is hilarious. He is so appalled by the lack of talent. I love seeing him take his business so seriously, so if he is just acting, that is unfortunate. Of course, that could also mean he is a good actor... hmmm...

Letterman was allegedly not in on the joke... and wow, is that an uncomfortable interview. I am not sure what was more awkward... Phoenix's silence or Letterman's jabs.

Phoenix does a good job pretending to be an arrogant jerk. Perhaps too good... I almost have to wonder.

Epic Beard

[ThreeGuysOneMovie · 7/10 · 16 February 2012]

Right off the bat let me state that this film is a mockumentary. It's a farce; the film is a work of fiction filmed in the documentary style. The film was released in 2010 so I don't feel that's really a spoiler. It would be hard to discuss the film if I had to keep up the illusion that this film was based in reality. That said, my lovely wife watched this film with me and was horrified to see the decent of Joaquin Phoenix as she had not read about the film and thought it was true.

I'm Still Here follows the day to day trials and tribulations of Joaquin Phoenix as he makes the transition from Hollywood heartthrob to novice struggling hip hop artist. We are introduced to his ass kissing entourage, his misbehaving dogs and his legendary beard growing prowess. We get to see Joaquin chase P. Diddy around the country in an attempt to have him produce his hip hop album. While all of these behaviors by Phoenix are funny or horrible depending upon your perspective, the real message of this film is the not Hollywood excess although that is part of it.

Affleck and Phoenix seem to be commenting instead of the obsession with celebrity in the media and by fans. Footage of skeptical media and idol worshiping fans are dispersed throughout the film. Even though some are skeptical about his motivations in becoming a hip hop artist and question the legitimacy of the documentary they are more than happy to report on the train wreck that Phoenix becomes.

Consider for a minute the performance itself. While this is a work of fiction Phoenix does gain a great deal of weight for the film and allows his hair and beard to become enormous and unclean. He also refrained from appearing in public without his crazy hip hop persona for a long period of time. When one considers the sacrifices and dedication on the part of Phoenix and Affleck to keep up the façade the film becomes more performance art than documentary.

Is I'm Still Here a good film? This is not going to be everyone's cup of tea and some are going to be repulsed by Phoenix's decent into drugs, whores and madness. I however, really enjoyed this film. Just think for a minute about how many people thought this was an actually documentary. Do you recall people's reaction to his appearance on Letterman while in character? Now consider the effort it took to pull that off. When those factors are considered, this may in fact be Phoenix's best work as an actor yet.

Should you see this film? If you are a fan of Andy Kaufman's comedy and to a lesser extent Sacha Baron Cohen's films I think you will enjoy I'm Still Here. Affleck and Phoenix had me laughing out loud as they skewered Hollywood fame and excess and the people who make that possible, the lackeys, the media, the stars egos the fans and even you and I.

Watching this cinema verité was not a pleasant

[marilyntwelch · 7/10 · 21 January 2011]

experience. But I did watch it intently, wondering what I was supposed to get out of it. I did get that the life of a celebrity is like walking a tight rope. It is certainly dangerous to one's mental health. It is essential to have loyal and supportive friends. The movie shows the horror side of fame.

Casey Affleck does a good job making this look like a documentary. JP is great as a successful and yet desperado actor turning rap singer. I was left wondering if the interactions of the players and the deal-making portrayed are an accurate depiction of Hollywood.

One strange omission is that the main character is shown doing many things but never shown eating. He seems to gain weight during the filming but he is never shown eating a morsel of food. It would have been more humanizing if it had been shown.

It's definitely worth watching.

The Joke's on Us

[colinrgeorge · 2/10 · 15 September 2010]

The joke's on me. Here I thought that after two years of Joaquin Phoenix's strange behavior, Casey Affleck's mockumentary "I'm Still Here," would lift the veil on one of the most elaborately meta performances of all time. Instead, this ineptly assembled alter to egotism harps incessantly on a point it never makes about the nature of fame.

Whether Phoenix's performance is manufactured or not, though I believe it is, is beside the point. If we take it at face value, than his actions are deplorable; he treats the people around him like crap, while neurotically painting himself the wounded victim. He's fixated on the conspiratorial judgment of the oppressive world, and whines that preconception clouds his audience's ability to appreciate his ludicrous venture into hip-hop. But get real. The character is built that way to support a deliberate statement, which makes "I'm Still Here" even less valuable.

Who exactly is Phoenix meant to represent, and better yet, why should we care? The idiosyncrasies of the character are obvious, but unlike Sasha Baron Cohen's alter egos Borat, Bruno, and Ali G, Phoenix's goal is unclear. Worst of all, the character isn't funny. Hiding behind a pair of stupid shades, usually with a cigarette or joint hanging out of his mouth, he mumbles incoherently about his inner-frustration and his inability to garner respect along his new career path.

Are we meant to feel sympathy for the megalomaniacal millionaire? Or are we meant to sneer at the idiot white boy who thinks he can rap? Affleck wants it both ways, but achieves neither. He plays Phoenix's awkward a cappella for cheap laughs, but expects us to defend him when heckled. Probably most telling, however, is that the funniest moments in "I'm Still Here" come at Phoenix's expense. Replaying the infamous Letterman appearance to an audience that's still laughing at him is the greatest proof of the experiment's emotional failure. The character is supremely unlikable, and no honest attempt is made to humanize him or to peer below his portly, unkempt façade.

Still, the lowest point comes from the scenes Affleck implements to falsely contextualize real moments, like Ben Stiller's impression of Phoenix at the 2009 Oscars. Affleck preempts the jab with an early scene in which Stiller offers Phoenix a role in "Greenberg." In the film, Phoenix had already announced his retirement from acting, so besides making no sense sequentially, the retroactive intention of the exploitative scene is solely to make Stiller seem cruel later on.

Sorry guys, but I'm on his side. Phoenix doesn't deserve our pity. Earnest or otherwise, when you draw attention to yourself the way he has, you open yourself up to parody. Furthermore, if he truly is just being himself, it's a wonder that he lets the skepticism get to him.

But put-on or not, the Phoenix in the film has no arc. His character is no closer to achieving his dream by the end, nor are we any closer to understanding what that dream means, to him or anyone. He plays a couple of miserable shows in a Miami nightclub, and spends weeks moping around one of his dingy apartments because hip-hop producer Sean "Diddy" Combs won't take a meeting with him. World's smallest violin.

The film is practically and thematically insubstantial. The only profound statement made is that a studio agreed to distribute "I'm Still Here," and idiots like me paid to see it. In our celebrity-obsessed culture, maybe Affleck and Phoenix were issuing a condemnation of the very notion of buying tickets to an artistic breakdown, but somehow that seems like a stretch. Either way, the joke's on us.

Will be utterly fascinating...for some.

[lewiskendell · 9/10 · 27 November 2010]

This has to be one of the most weird and surreal movies that I've ever seen. Watching Joaquin Phoenix bouncing around like a gibbering idiot and rapping in front of Edward James Olmos (rap name: EJO), while a nonsensical voice-over of Olmos rambles about raindrops and mountains and inner light...it's just insane. And the entire mockumentary is like that, to varying degrees. 

Joaquin plays a deranged, drug-using, prostitute-frequenting, delusional, destructive, bizzaro-version of himself, and I just can't look away. Every time he steps up onto a stage to rap, it's a hilarious train wreck. Even though you can't help but feel painfully embarrassed for the character. The way he berates his assistants, tries to get a friend in recovery to take drugs, constantly surrenders to his own paranoia and delusions, and takes narcissism and selfishness to the furthest excesses, it's all just unbelievably compelling. It's like watching the worst person in the world and wondering what insanity they're going to race towards next.

I thought that the performance by Phoenix was great. This is my absolute favorite movie by him, and my favorite "character" that he's played. It's not by accident that so many people thought this movie was a genuine documentary about Phoenix's spiraling life. He genuinely makes the character seem crazy enough to believe that his music is actually good and that the absurd things that he's saying have meaning. It feels real, even when you know it's not. Every uncomfortable, embarrassed and incredulous reaction of his friends and the people he meets just drew me deeper into the world of this bizarre man.

I was beyond impressed by what Phoenix and Casey Affleck did with this. When I first heard about it, it sounded like a vanity project that would be an amusing oddity, at best. What I got instead was one of the best movies I've seen this year. It is NOT for everyone. But how can I not rate a movie highly that made me laugh so much, while also making me feel sadness, disgust, pity, incredulity, anger, hope, embarrassment, and ten other things? 

This experiment was a smashing success, in my opinion, and something truly unique that I'll be thinking about for a long time. I'm Still Here is audacious, ridiculous, and certainly divisive. I can honestly see why some people would hate this movie, and the entire idea behind it. But, long before that perfect ending left my screen, I knew which side of that divide I would fall on.

1st viewing, I was perplexed......

[shyruban-495-831328 · 7/10 · 22 October 2019]

I watched this movie twice: The first time when it just came out where I was unable to tell if this was real, partly real or the whole thing just a big hoax wanting to pass on a serious message. I guess I pretty much watched it as being real, I almost walked out part of the way as I really like JP and thinking that he would go down such destructive spiral made me sad for him, still I stayed til the end of the film, a clue in the end credits started convincing me that it was all an act.(I'll not mention what it is as I don't like to have spoilers, it's not a film description, it's my impression of the film).

The second time was tonight, October 21st 2019, I wanted to watch it again with the optic of knowing it was all a big hoax, actually if you think of it, an incredible hoax because JP had to pretty much stay in character for near two years, many months after filming was booked. But the important thing in this movie is the crude message of how easy it can be to go way up but fall way down and be unable to control the drop, it is a good film to understand the sort of mental distress fame may have on some famous people, how much stress it might be to have to constantly watch what you say or do as it does not seem to take much in this fickle world to get dumped and ridiculed. I can see where some might just loose it and just suddenly want to be themselves and do and say whatever they want without the constant self destruction clouds above them. Read all the negative reviews, some are a lot of fun hehe, some of the good reviews are interesting too and show empathy in understanding the message to gain behind the raunchy wrapper.

More like a home movie and performance art than a mockumentary.

[planktonrules · 3/10 · 13 April 2021]

In one way, "I'm Still Here" is an amazing film. After all, Joaquin Phoenix and director Casey Afleck really pulled off a huge hoax here...one that took years in the making. Just after Phoenix received the Oscar, he publicly announced on various television shows that he's walking away from acting....all to set the stage for this mockumentary. This is very reminiscent of the things Andy Kaufman did late in life...when he became a pro wrestler who only wrestled women as well as his abrasive alter ego (Tony Clifton)....which seemed less like acting and more like performance art.

However, this mockumentary is not like most others I've seen in that it is VERY rough and looks like a home movie filmed on iPhones or a home video camera. It lacks any sort of polish or editing and is really tough to watch because of this. In other words, to make this joke of a film, they seemed to try very hard to make it unwatchable or at least very tough to watch in order to make it look as if Phoenix REALLY was trying to become a rap star and had given up Hollywood and had lost his mind. All the cursing, coarse language and gratuitous frontal nudity seemed to heighten this effect.

To me, this is a film whose concept is much better than its execution. Watching it is tough, as the movie is really and long and rough....with many portions looking more like stuff that normally would fall on the cutting room floor. A big joke...but one that really isn't very funny after a while....just tedious. It was made worse because the character Phoenix played (an odd version of himself) was really, really annoying....and after a while, I just found myself giving up on the movie. In hindsight, this would have made an excellent short film...but 108 minutes of it felt like an endurance contest.

I only gave this a 3 because the idea of the film was great. But watching it is horrid...and I cannot imagine anyone enjoying it or saying they'd be willing to watch it twice!

This is brilliant work. I don't understand all the derision.

[jamisen3 · 9/10 · 18 September 2010]

Somehow, I feel like one of the only people who thinks this movie is absolutely genius and incredibly funny. Many leading critics seem to have missed the fact that this is a ruse. Reading in the NYT yesterday that Casey Affleck admitted it was not "reality" probably aided my ability to view the movie the way I did, but I am surprised that so many people have a negative reaction to what Affleck and Phoenix present and couldn't see the bigger picture even before the revelation was made. I am looking forward to J.P's appearance on Letterman next week, when I believe we will learn a lot more about their motivation in its production. In the meantime, however, I think a few things can be said that will not prove to be altogether ignorant on my part.

First, this a movie made by professional actors. This is not Casey Affleck following a Joaquin Phoenix lacking self-awareness around with a camera because they have nothing better to do. It is a deliberate effort to create, and they are both collaborating. That should give everyone a good starting point. It is a real movie with thoughtful development, not the work of pedestrian journalists. With that in mind, it is easy to see just how much fun it would have been to make.

The primary "conflict" in the movie is Joaquin's discomfort with the pressures on him and the risks he is taking in the face of so many expectations to keep producing the kinds of movies that won him accolades. The viewer who thinks the film is true life will believe he is throwing away a great movie career because he is the typical tragic celebrity who has it all, can't recognize it, is under chemical influence, and has no one around who cares enough to intervene. There are far too many clues to let that impression control throughout the film.

When J.P. delivers monologues about how he's putting it all on the line, what we should understand is that the fake J.P. is talking about his hip-hop dream, while the real J.P. is acknowledging the risk he is taking by staying out of glossy big-budget blockbusters he had at his fingertips after Walk the Line. Keep in mind: he had to be this character for almost two whole years in order to make anyone bother to watch the movie. When you stack this kind of dedication up against a stupid movie about the drama behind Facebook, the farce of Jersey Shore, another crime movie set in Boston, and all the other garbage out there, I'm Still Here stands out as cutting-edge performance.

Comparisons are easily made to works of Sacha Baron Cohen and Christopher Guest. The primary difference is the real-world gambit of Phoenix and the manipulation of the media, expanding the stage of performance beyond the theaters. And the audience isn't spoon-fed the humor. Yeah, they probably ticked off a lot of suited business people who wanted Phoenix to be predictable and stay in bounds, but the very point of the movie was that the Hollywood system is a fenced-in joke of a society and very easy to toy with. Of course, the sad truth is that so many fine performers have indeed self-destructed in similar fashion. Perhaps that is why people are uncomfortable with the movie; because it is plausible. But if J.P. can deceive so many so easily, it is all the more a masterpiece.

Not Bad if you are comfortable with cringe

[ccbcsm · 7/10 · 9 December 2010]

One of the reviews that I read here said that this movie portrayed Joaquin as a completely unlikeable guys. Not a guy that you wanted to dislike, but one that you wanted to like but just couldn't…. And I could not agree more.

I gave the movie 7 stars, not because I liked it, but because I was so uncomfortable with all the cringe moments and the astounding stupidity at which our guy proceeds with all of his "choices". In other words, I gave it 7 stars because it smacked of some uncomfortable truth. Not all people will be that guy, but with enough money and "A" kissing from sycophants, a lot of people would become "that guy" (the guy that has toadies that will do whatever he says without question but hate him for asking because what he is asking for makes no sense or is completely, ridiculously stupid).

I Don't know Joaquin, so I have no idea if that was who he was or if this was fake or real… But regardless, he did a great job with this.

My husband seemed to really like this one… His take (and one that I like better than my own) was that this was a bunch of guys that seemed to really like each other and wanted to have a good time making a goofy movie about a stupid goofy guy…. In short, a bunch of dudes f^*king around… Joaquin was his own Michael Scott….

A star-studded mockumentary... and funny as cancer!

[bellino-angelo2014 · 2/10 · 31 December 2022]

The reason why I saw I'M STILL HERE it's because of the many cameos by at least 100 celebrities but in hindsight it was best I skipped this one.

After Joaquin Phoenix got nominated for Best Actor for WALK THE LINE he announced that he left acting and focused on rap music. Then the movie follows him and his friend Casey Affleck and the set is staged for this mockumentary. What follows is just a series of vignettes where Phoenix starts his rap career, goes in various nightclubs, behaves like an annoying jerk and the viewer will simply lose his patience.

The concept looked good. After all, it can happen to everyone to change careers at some points or after some delusions. But Phoenix was annoying and the movie seemed to last forever. Scenes of him at home screaming like he was on drugs, cursing in night clubs and a long take of his swimming in a river... seemed to last forever and bored the hell out of me. And the many cameos by Sean Penn, Jack Nicholson, Danny Glover, Bruce Willis and some others didn't added nothing because blink your eyes and they are gone.

Overall, probably the worst mockumentary that has ever been made and honestly, if it was made as a short film it would have been better. Seeing 108 minutes of Phoenix behaving like a fool is some sort of endurance contest, and sometimes I felt to give up on the movie.

To be, or not to be . . .

[JohnDeSando · 9 September 2010]

"Joaquin, I'm sorry you couldn't be here tonight." David Letterman

As a piece of performance art, I'm Still Here is as good a mockumentary about celebrity insanity as you will ever get, except, of course, for This is Spinal Tap, which is the real deal of satire. Director Casey Affleck follows his brother-in-law for more than a year after Phoenix's decision to retire from his successful acting career and become a hip-hop artist.

The iconic, Nick-Nolte-like image of Phoenix with a beard and sunglasses, a sort of Blues Brother and Smith Brother all in one, is both hilarious and sad, depending on whether you believe the story of his retirement or see it as a smart marketing campaign for this film and his career. His expertly scoring blow and constantly smoking weed have an authentic air about them although a good actor could simulate. His abuse of his many paid assistants is accurate for a star but almost unbelievable for such a talented one (Walk the Line, Revolution Road). The poor quality of the sound and image makes it a Blair-Witch kin or a device to evoke realism.

I am a disbeliever because although Phoenix convinces me he is sincere about retirement, the actual lack of talent he has, evidenced more than once in the film, leads me to think it's a finely-wrought hoax. No actor as smart as Phoenix could ever judge himself talented, especially as he forms a relationship with Sean Combs, one of the great rappers of our time and in the film a shrewd judge of Phoenix's sophomoric attempts. Phoenix's gig with Letterman, see quote at beginning, could have been a part of the hoax. Throwing up after a performance looked real enough.

Phoenix could make himself into a minor rap artist if he wanted—witness his successful learning to play guitar and sing as Johnny Cash—yet it seems he prefers not to learn well just so he can fail and return into acting, where the dollars will follow.

The title is instructive—does it mean the acting Phoenix is still here, or does it suggest his whole persona—musician and actor—is here. I don't know the answer; I just know my film critic side thinks it sees a con.

If it is all true, Joaquin Phoenix will have time to get back to his real talent, acting. If not, he'll spend time mending a reputation he has willfully wrecked.

Watching Phoenix Crumble is Equal Parts Funny/Painful

[brando647 · 6/10 · 1 December 2010]

I'm still not completely sure how I feel about Casey Affleck's faux documentary. I didn't really have any expectations going in and I tried to remain open-minded as I watched it the first time. At this point, I've seen the film 2-3 times and I remain uncertain. For those who haven't seen a tabloid in the past few years, the film follows Joaquin Phoenix's "retirement" from the film industry to pursue a new career in rap music. Over the course of the film, we watch as his life slowly degrades. He tears into his friends and enjoys cocaine-fueled sex with hookers, and to make matters worse...his rap music completely sucks.

At this point, it's common knowledge (for those interested in following these sort of things) that the film was staged. Affleck and Phoenix aimed to shoot the film guerrilla-style and to use it as a satire of celebrity. I don't want to ruin anything for anyone who hasn't seen the film yet, so I won't mention what was real versus what was staged. I do wish that Affleck had waited until after the nationwide home video release to admit Phoenix's retirement was staged. I imagine watching this film with the mindset that Phoenix's actions could very well be legitimate would change the whole experience.

I suppose I would say the film is funny, but it's mostly an uncomfortable humor. Phoenix's crap rhymes an weak live performances make you want to laugh, but you almost feel bad for him. From what we're led to believe, Phoenix is making an "honest" attempt in the film to shift gears with his career and watching him flounder is almost embarrassing. Then his behind-the-scenes freak-outs on his friends will make you cringe. Phoenix does an excellent job portraying himself as a man in the midst of a major life freak-out here and it's easy to buy into the act.

The technical quality of the film isn't the greatest. It was shot on a variety of digital cameras and some of them were pretty low quality, and the editing is pretty shabby at times with ill-timed jumps. I suppose it does add to the homemade, low-cost quality Affleck was shooting for. Overall, it's an interesting movie. It didn't have me laughing out loud much but I was drawn in to watching a life fall to pieces in front of me.

Empty but entertaining

[bdan35 · 6/10 · 15 January 2019]

Though lacking direction at times, ISM contains somewhat of a soul through Phoenix and his heartfelt, self centered rants. Better yet, it offers a brief glimpse into the chaotic life of a character of his stature and that in its self is entertaining.

Your reaction really depends on who you are...

[clairebear-846-509760 · 7/10 · 8 December 2013]

I went into this movie thinking it would be pretty funny since it was a mockumentary of sorts. Parts of the movie, especially scenes with Antony or the bits where you actually get to hear Joaquin's music, were hilarious. Especially the music--I had to re-watch one of his songs a few times, it was just such a great scene.

But, the thing is, a lot of it is the type of humor you'd expect from a Jackass movie or something similar--very teenage-boy kind of humor, if you know what I mean. I think if you are in any way prudish, or easily disturbed, this film is definitely not for you.

Overall, it was a pretty good movie and I'm glad I saw it. Some of the acting was a bit overdone in my opinion, and at some points, it was easy to see that the film was scripted, but it's a pretty funny movie that reveals a lot of (sometimes shocking) truths about being a celebrity, and it makes it more clear as to why celebrities do some of the crazy things that they sometimes do.

Documentary or Mockumentary?

[adflynn · 4/10 · 12 February 2011]

**********Warning this Review Contains Spoilers***************

For all of you doubters out there that think this is a serious movie or documentary here are all the clues that it's actually a Mockumentary or satire:

– No matter how much of an attention-whore he is, if this was a serious documentary about Joaquin he would never have let the film be released with his former assistant, Anton, getting revenge by crapping on his face.

– Speaking of attention-whores, as soon as I saw Ben Stiller's face, I knew it was a hoax. Ben's a cameo-whore.

– There's no way Casey could have stayed married and also publicly released a film trashing his brother-in-law by showing every nasty, flaming commentary he could find on TV or the internet.

– After Joaquin desperately follows Diddy from New York to Miami and Diddy continues to take his calls and see him throughout the movie? Diddy was in on the joke. No other explanation. –There are a lot of other little inconsistencies or things that are too coincidental:

* Compare the editing and post-production value of the camera work with that of Joaquin's music. It could not be the same group of people putting so much thought, time and money into setting up the composition and angles of the camera shots for the movie and then turn around and let Joaquin basically defecate on stage when he tries to rap.

*What's up with the surgical mask appearing periodically on his neck while at the same time he has his dirty dreadlocks wrapped up in a shirt on his head?

* For those of you who actually watched the entire movie; the waterfall at the beginning and the waterfall at the end is so obvious that by the end you can't continue to seriously think that it's just coincidental. It's not Joaquin's subconscious leading him back to his childhood roots – common! An article online says that Joaquin admitted that the waterfall footage at the beginning wasn't even him or his family. They paid actors to film that scene and then used a film processing technique to make it look grainy and old. --And if you still don't believe it, there is a transcript online of an interview Casey gave the Roger Ebert with full details of the hoax. Casey says that, "the drugs and the hookers were fake but the vomiting was real". BTW Casey had to say that because if the movie was real, anything the film shows they did is illegal can be used as evidence against them.

A scathing and hilarious indictment of the category of celebrity

[Muttines · 10/10 · 28 October 2010]

Under normal circumstances, I might have given this title a slightly lower rating, but the criminally low scores given by some reviewers demanded a strong counterpoint.

This was an immensely intelligent and relevant film to come out of Hollywood, made by actors, celebrities in their own right, who are clearly sickened by the solipsistic egoism of the entertainment industry and its undeserved position of prominence in American culture.

The grotesque character Phoenix and Affleck bring to the screen, perhaps crystallized best in an instance where the former physically attacks a heckler during a performance and subsequently voids his stomach after all the exertion, instantly - and irrevocably - shatters the glamorous veneer that surrounds the category of 'the celebrity'. This, I suspect and fear, may be one of the reasons why some of the reviewers in these pages had an aversion to the film.

As a Brit, I've been brought up on slightly surreal, and often fairly, dark humour - a la Chris Morris's 'Jam' and 'Brass Eye'. But this really pushed things further, and I felt myself challenged as a viewer, which is always a good thing in my book.

My advice would be to watch this film and make up your own mind. Perhaps the best way to recommend this feature is to mention the fact that, almost 12 hours after having seen it, I still feel a warm sense of edification, a feeling that is rarely induced by watching movies (I'm more of a reader).

A timely satire that bursts the celebrity bubble.

I'm still here but Why ?

[valleyjohn · 6/10 · 22 November 2010]

The question most people ask when talking about " I'm still here" is do you think it was real? That's the not the first question that springs to my mind. The most important question is - why?

If this was genuine ( and it clearly isn't) why would your brother in-law ( Casey Afflek ) document a respected actor going off the rails? And if it isn't real , why would you want to show yourself snorting coke , having sex with hookers and acting like a complete moron when it wasn't true.?

The reasoning behind this film is beyond me. Having said all that there are quite a few scenes that are really watchable. The old film footage of him jumping off a waterfall when he is about 5 years old is amazing . The scene where he's playing his CD to P Diddy is amusing and the final performance if his rap in a club and his attacking of an audience member looks as genuine as anything else in the film.

I'm not sure where Joaquin Phoenix goes from here because this project has quite clearly backfired on him , hoax or not , and all people will remember him by after this film is what an arse he is.

plodding shock reality show

[SnoopyStyle · 4/10 · 2 September 2015]

Joaquin Phoenix was raised in a non-traditional performing family. Beginning in 2009, he is a big star but he's tired of the work. He decides to quit acting. He wants to rap and become a hip hop star.

This is a mockumentary. The problem is that Casey Affleck and Joaquin Phoenix had an idea while smoking something, and they actually went through with it. They want to make a shocking reality show and ends up making a pretty boring movie. The shock is for nothing more than for shock's sake. I don't care about this version of Joaquin. I don't laugh with him or at him. I laughed at the David Letterman interview but that's because of Letterman. This movie has little entertainment value. It is of some artistic value for how long he kept up the act.

Not Hollywood

[pkgod16 · 9/10 · 17 March 2011]

This is unlike any other movie ever made. Inventive. Joaquin made a movie, he was in character at all times. Whether or not he broke character or there were flaws or slips in the film, he had to keep in character any time he was in the public eye. He wasn't locked away on a set or in a remote location. He wasn't shielded from scrutiny until every word or action was carefully crafted by editors. He was acting in plan sight, having to flow and improvise anytime he was around the media. These guys are made a film by catching the media off guard, a media hoax, instead of the media paying there rent by displaying or exposing celebrity.

This is the result of a history of celebrity turning the tables on the media. Edgar Allan Poe used the print media to conduct hoaxes for the end goal of entertainment and enlightenment. He manufactured a truth to raise questions, do you believe everything you read or hear in the case of Orson Wells? I commend the efforts and dedication that went into the making of this movie.

Also, I wish no one had let me in on the ruse until I had seen the movie. Being fooled is fun, it's why magicians will always be entertaining despite the fact that we may adamantly dismiss the existence of magic.

Real or not real, still a great performance

[bdgill12 · 7/10 · 13 July 2011]

In 2008, Academy Award nominee Joaquin Phoenix announced that he was retiring from acting and would be focusing on his rap career. The strange story took hold of the media and culminated in one of the weirdest interviews in the history of the medium with Phoenix appearing blitzed out of his mind and disinterested and a clearly perturbed David Letterman going out of his way to poke fun at his guest. Shortly thereafter it came to light to Phoenix's brother-in-law, Casey Affleck, was filming his career transition for a documentary that would come to be titled "I'm Still Here." The bumbling attempt at hip-hop, however, takes a backseat to the no-holds-barred depiction of the chaotic and drug-fueled lifestyle that Phoenix lives. Soon after its release, Affleck let slip the fact that "I'm Still Here" was actually not a documentary but instead an insanely personal look at method acting. Where the truth actually lies is anyone's guess but there's no denying how fascinating this film is in its best moments.

In some ways the prior knowledge gained from Affleck's admission takes away from the impact of the film. At the same time, however, it leads the viewer down a dark path as you find yourself wondering how much of this is real and how much is just for show. This is one of the most authentic performances I've ever seen and whether all of "I'm Still Here" was done just for the camera or if Affleck's statement itself was a lie to protect Phoenix, there is some measure of reality to Phoenix's behavior. Let's not forget that Phoenix's brother, River, had serious issues adjusting to life in the spotlight and ended up dead from a drug overdose in front of an LA nightclub. The most telling moment of the entire film comes early on when Phoenix admits that he's tired of playing his most tiring role, that being the actor Joaquin Phoenix. It's a statement that reeks of honesty, a truly sober moment amidst a drug-addled rant that goes on for several minutes. I'm left feeling unsure as to which parts of "I'm Still Here" should be taken as fiction and which parts hit too close to the mark to be anything but truth. That question, along with a few scenes that probably should have been left on the cutting room floor, distract from the would-be power of the film. Ultimately, "I'm Still Here" is a flawed and profoundly sad film that is highlighted by one of the most engrossing but hard-to-watch performances you'll ever see.

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Who cares?

[chicagopoetry · 1/10 · 3 January 2011]

I keep trying to watch I'm Stil Here on Netflix but I get annoyed and stop watching after fifteen minutes. I keep coming back every so often to try to finish it and it just keeps getting worse. This is absolutely the worst movie I have ever seen. Who cares? It is obviously a mockumentary but unlike Spinal Tap it isn't funny. So who cares? Why would Joaquin Phoenix destroy his career by making this garbage is the real mystery. Who wants to sit for two hours and watch this guy whine and moan and act like a total spoiled brat? It's not funny. There is no punch line. The same gag ruined Andy Kaufman's career so what made this idiot think it would work for him? I don't get it. Yawn. Yawn. Yawn. Yawn. Zzzzzzzzzzz.