Wonderful character development!

Am I Missing Something?

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Writer/director Stephen Kessler is a working filmmaker in Hollywood. He's a fan of songwriter celebrity Paul Williams. Assuming Paul is dead, he is surprised to find out that Paul is still alive and still working. It turns out that he is sober just recently. Paul Williams was a big songwriter of the '70s. After a good performance on The Tonight Show, he became somewhat of a celebrity. He became hooked on various substances and fame. However his fame fades.Kessler is somewhat of a stalker. It gets awkward at times. Paul chaffs at Stephen's insinuation that something is pathetic about his later career. Sometimes he's treated like a family member. Other times, there is this weird tension. But Stephen always seems to be a fan, and that adds a sweet charming feel to the movie.

It would seem despite Paul's erstwhile troubles with substance abuse, the undeniable being which is him, comes shining thru, but not with a spotlight but with a muted and profound glow. Just like Paul ( at least I feel this way) it took me a while to warm up to both Kessler's and his directorial approach to this documentary. At times, Kessler's approach seemed to mimic Michael Moore's stylized approach to documentary making which is to let the director's presence and his intentions/difficulties known. I agree with him that Paul Williams story is one needed to be told. Kessler lets it be known of his own neurosis and fears, and at times its a little unnerving and inappropriate as you also see this being reflected by Paul. But Paul seemingly stays cool, truncating Kessler's sometime obtrusive manner. One of the things I really liked seeing about Paul was his benevolence towards others who share the same affliction ( if thats the right word) and his very humble lifestyle; he does his own driving, books some of his own gigs, totes his own luggage, lives in a very modest home etc. He doesn't do those things out of financial necessity, yet he also does not play the martyr. He's a just a simple man who appears to acknowledge the gift of life and wants to be part of it, hands-on. On the darker side, maybe he behaves this way to distance himself from the life-style that accommodated the self-destructive behavior in the first place. Who knows? The thing that impressed me most about Paul is his ability to live in the now, and look forward, as he shuns his past and nostalgia; not an easy thing to do when you consider his height of celebrity was his past. But this also explains Paul's reservation of doing the documentary in the first place as it can only come together as a story BY delving into the past. I never got the sense Paul was trying to hide anything, it just seemed sort of pointless to him. He doesn't seem to be outwardly concerned of danger, he sky dived, he travels all over the world, and just seems genuinely happy to be a part of something. I wish there had been some insight to Paul's creative process, the film makes it seem he just sort of fell into it, perhaps stemming from, in part, to his stature. Like Paul's music, the overall tone of the documentary is the good side of sadness, and Paul teaches us, perhaps tacitly so, there IS such a thing and its not such a bad thing after all.

This is a wonderful treat for Paul Williams fans (of which I am one), and it's also a semi-serious portrait of recovery and survival from 1970's celebrity and the excesses that often came with that lifestyle.My only problem with this film is that the director, Stephen Kessler, a self-professed fan, is a presence in the film the same way Michael Moore often is in his movies. Kessler is likable and it's apparent that the film probably couldn't have been presented without some insight as to how and why he made it (no way he could have been invisible). And some of the film's funniest moments stem from the awkward and sometimes intrusive presence of Kessler and his crew.But I would have liked a better sense of Kessler as an individual and a passionate fan rather than a challenged documentarian (he's a constant presence but we don't get to know him well enough). His approach also left me wanting a more linear treatment, like that of an A&E Biography; Williams' output was so extensive that much of his career retrospective here seems rushed. Kessler includes a lot of awkward cinema-verite moments, many of which are entertaining, but for me there's not enough coverage of Williams' acting, writing and recording work and I would have liked more focus on that.Still, I'm grateful that he made the film, and that Mr. Williams was a (sometimes) willing subject.

I only just re-discovered Paul Williams a year ago, although he was a clear memory from my childhood. Williams was a ubiquitous TV personality in the 1970s. And although the film will definitely appeal to nostalgia addicts of a certain age, it has more than enough good humor and emotional resonance to draw in anyone who's never heard of him (everyone's heard his songs). Kessler approaches his subject with great love, respect, and a sometimes intrusive curiosity. Williams responds at first with suspicion, then eventually trust. The growing affinity between subject and filmmaker almost becomes a second plot line - the primary one being Williams' manic career. It's edited with wit and, dare I say, pathos. I sat fairly close to the screen, and there were a few moments where shaky camera-work bothered me, but that's an inevitability whenever a filmmaker obsessively attempts to capture the essence of a childhood hero. The film also functions as a meditation on the true meaning of success and happiness. It's a lesson sorely needed in an aggressively competitive world, but the film doesn't preach. You walk away with some of the most beautiful songs ringing in your head. A beautiful film.