HECKLER International Documentary Competition

Although the exact details have been lost to history, one imagines that the first critic ‘s judgment was closer in form to a Bronx cheer than to Aristotle ‘s Poetics. Both significant and uproariously funny, Michael Addis’s documentary focuses on the age-old antipathy between performers and their audiences, exploring where it comes from and what it ultimately means. Addis gets ample help from a wide-ranging group of interviewees and his master of ceremonies, actor/ comedian Jamie Kennedy, a Zelig of contemporary critical loathing. Kennedy is so maniacally driven to get an explanation for the hate he engenders that he reads some of his worst notices back to their authors, in person. Their resulting equivocation, not to mention our discomfort , is worthy of Larry David, or perhaps a White House press secretary. As Addis and Kennedy deepen their investigation, they discover that in the 21st century, criticism has been democratized in ways that are both inspiring and terrifying. Brutal, brash and surreal, HECKLER is a film that will challenge you as it delights . Just be careful what you post about it when you get home.