the audience applauded

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

it is finally so absorbing because it plays like a lyrical road odyssey that’s also a detective story.

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

Heckler, which was directed in 2007 by Michael Addis, is likely Jamie Kennedy's biggest achievement in his entire career. The movie is remarkable for how much of a deconstruction of the documentary genre it is. Addis' study, with its 79 minute run-time starts turning towards psychological drama territory not even halfway through. At the centre of it is the above mentioned Jamie Kennedy, who is on his journey to achieve character development by growing past his critics' opinions. Ultimately he tries selling us his new found self-respect by burning all the reviews he got for his work, which due to his unconvincingness adds a new layer to the complexity of the movie. This nature of the film truly makes it worth giving a shot.That being said, the movie is not a good documentary. It has a severe case of cherry-picking. All of it is set up to make "the artist" the victim. While it's true, that the heckler phenomenon is heavily negative in nature, the focus quickly shifts towards critics, who aren't always just set on giving people a bad reputation. Some of the celebrities interviewed did try to not put criticism into a radically negative light, but the movie overall still seems to have a pretty negative opinion towards it. Best example is how the interviews are executed; actors and comedians always talk directly into the camera with no one questioning their opinions, while all the critics talk directly to Kennedy, whose discussions are strongly shrouded in him playing the victim card all the way through. The critics, who appear also aren't too representative to their own kind, since they chose to interview only those, whose reviews ranged from strongly negative to flat out hateful.With all I've written considered, you probably won't learn more about the heckler-phenomenon from this movie, than you would if you went into an actual comedy show. Not published

As a 'Top Reviewer' on IMDb, I have written many film reviews in my time; however, almost all of them are capsule reviews that include a plot summary, brief pros/cons, and maybe a quick noteworthy piece of trivia to add an eensy bit of fat. However, none have been more personal than HECKLER. Here is a rare PERSONAL summary: I first watched HECKLER a couple of years after its release. Nobody likes a heckler, so the generic title was really an eye-catcher for me. Also, being a horror movie fan, I have a soft-spot for Jamie Kennedy who played Randy Meeks in the first three SCREAM films—possibly the horror genre's most underrated supporting character. My first viewing was at a buddy's studio apartment, and he and I both really enjoyed it.What brought me to replay this movie a few years later:I had recently discovered that one of my books had gotten a * out of ***** on Amazon.com by a reader. It included something along the lines of "the characters are as flat as the paper they're printed on" and some other harsh words that I don't wish to continue breathing life into. Deep down, I knew I shouldn't have cared; I get reviews and some of them are good, some are mixed and some are bad—this person's review made it pretty clear that they either didn't understand important elements of the story and/or it simply wasn't their cup of tea. On the surface, however, it was difficult not to be hurt.I actually decided to give HECKLER a replay and it really helped. Not only did it remind me that others receive this on a similar scale, but also that I created something that puts me in the spotlight to get heckled. In a way, whether my work was praised or criticized, I made an accomplishment that put me in a position to get reception from others—and just being able to have myself out there in front of the world like that is quite an achievement, and that fact is what I should be focused on.Also, Perez Hilton made a commendable comment in a deleted scene, explaining that because he dishes criticism, he has to accept criticism from others in return. While it might be an obvious point, it's an easy one to forget when you're down-in-the-dumps due to a bad review. I have written hundreds of reviews; and, yes, on occasion, I am willing to be blunt. Therefore, I need to move on and not let such a First World problem affect me creatively or emotionally.HECKLER is an excellent comfort film for anyone who is in a positioned to be heckled or negatively reviewed.***½ (out of four)

The true irony of this movie is that the comedians and actors interviewed become the hecklers of hecklers and critics. For the most part I sympathize and agree with what the comedians are saying. But when Eli Roth just makes fun of a fat chick in Cleveland as though anyone who doesn't live in Hollywood or like his movies is a dumb worthless piece of sh*t, he becomes the bully (heckler) he's complaining about. Another bit of irony is that I am writing this "review" about a movie that essentially just becomes a sob fest of actors complaining about bad reviews they've received. After a half hour of this I started having a hard time feeling sorry for them no matter how right they were and just got bored. It really just shows how self obsessed some of these people are. Do they ever disagree with a good review? Sorry some of your movies are really, really sh*tty and you know they are sh*tty. Does that mean people shouldn't or won't watch them? Hell no. People love bad movies and I love tons of 'em, but don't get your p*nties in a bind if somebody calls your piece a sh*t a piece of sh*t. Just count your cash all the way the bank and get your agent on the horn, because I'm sure there's another piece of sh*t waiting for you to star in. Anyway, I give this movie 2 1/2 waffles. ;)

While I understand the point of this movie being to address the unnecessary ways of heckling and/or critics, what seems to be missed is... They are nothing without the critics. You must know darkness to recognize light or the absence thereof, correct? I would have enjoyed this movie if they would have actually looked at their point in a collective way. Unfortunately, their argument is too invalid (as they say about the critics interviewed and mentioned) because not a single person ever says how they want to be addressed.If you are going to say you don't like how a person is addressing you, tell them how you'd like to be addressed then. If you don't like how these critics are doing their job (which is oh so very relevant to yours) then tell them how you'd like them to do it the "right" way.