TV Junkie

A gripping, poignant and heartbreaking portrayal of one man's descent into the grips of addiction. All the footage is real. The editing is effective. Kirkham's raw home-video footage underscores the loneliness and desperation brought on by his drug use. His display of self-hatred and humiliation during his crack binges is both fascinating and terrifying. Nonetheless, nothing is quite as devastating as watching his wife and children suffer the consequences of his behavior. As such, the heart of this film is the love story between Rick and his wife, Tammy. One witnesses the wrenching toll it takes on her enduring commitment and almost limitless compassion for her husband. It must be stated that while this movie is thoroughly captivating (I couldn't take my eyes away for a second) it should be watched with discretion, as some of the scenes contain graphic, potentially disturbing content.

TV Junkie was definitely worth watching. It satisfied my curiosity about drug use among people who apparently have it all. I've always wondered how someone with half a brain, with a decent job, and a nice family could allow himself to become addicted to crack cocaine. What is he thinking? What is the feeling that he gets from it that drives him to continue to wreck his life and the lives of those closest to him? This film answers those questions.

Frankly, the "reality" TV craze kind of hurts this film. This film is stark reality. Unlike the polished, sometimes scripted and directed "reality" programs we see on television, we see the horrible production of home movies. We see a man who has a very strange obsession of capturing his whole life on video tape. This behavior was almost as disturbing as his drug use. He videotaped constantly. It's almost like he was escaping reality by living through his video camera. I applaud the filmmakers for what must have been a painful time going through the 3000 hours of video tape that they used to make the film.

Since this is the third documentary comprised entirely of home video that I've watched in the past 18 months, it appears that there are some odd people out there who are compelled to capture everything on video. Why do they do it? My bet is that these people rarely watch their tapes as the obsession with filming goes far beyond simply wishing to capture life's events for future viewing.

Watch this movie if you are curious to see the real life of a drug addict. I would have liked to see more of his recovery, but the movie isn't about recovery. It's about drug addiction. Reviewers who suggest that Kirkham purposely got hooked on drugs as a way to make money off of a movie should have their heads examined. He was making plenty of money on Inside Edition. How much money do you think he made from this documentary? Not as much as he would have made had he stayed sober and kept his job. I also doubt that he would subject his children to experiencing the horrors of drug addiction. The man comes across as anything but a hero, and the ends certainly wouldn't justify the means.

I'm normally quite dubious about people who film themselves because I wonder what it is that they are filming themselves for. I know this is perhaps a bit ironic coming from someone who continually writes down his opinions and puts them into the public domain for free, but hey, here we are. For all the countless blogs etc out there the message is often clear that there is only a small amount worth paying attention to where most are somehow massaging ego, picturing themselves bigger than they are or perhaps just full of the belief that people will want to see them.

With Rick Kirkham I was in little doubt that here was a man who is full of himself to a point and would rather film his life than just live it. A strange man, he tries to recreate fights seemingly so that they can be captured on his camera. Now, reviewing this as a film, I cannot ignore the fact that some of the diary footage is Kirkham putting his thoughts and emotions on film instead of just having them and, frankly, this is as dull as it is egotistical and if this film had merely been edited footage from him as he was at the start of the film then the film would be almost painful to watch. Instead, the film is painful to watch – but in a way that makes it worth seeing.

You see, while Kirkham obsessively films himself, it transpires that the film's title has dual meanings, because this film addict is also a junkie in the normal meaning. What this means is that we get to see Kirkham doing well in his career etc while enjoying the buzz that drugs give him. This goes on for a while with only the occasional rehab and intervention giving a clue that he isn't holding it together off the camera. As his descent begins in earnest, Kirkham's camera captures fights, depravity, self-loathing and ruin. In this regard the film does work and is worth seeing because it is a very impacting way of saying "drugs are bad – even if it takes years to find out". While I don't totally agree that it is a brilliant film I can understand why some reviewers have credited this film with helping save the lives of their family or selves by being a stark warning because that is just what it is.

It is not easy viewing because of this and nor would I expect it to be. However at the same time the film isn't easy watching because of how it is put together. We get too much of Kirkham feeling sorry for himself and not enough of the worst stuff he did. We hear about some things but given it seems like he taped everything, you have to wonder why some of his "lowest" points aren't lower. Also absent is a long period between "rock bottom" and being clean – not sure why none of this was used expect maybe there was no filming in this period.

Regardless though it is ironically the work of Kirkham that makes this film worth seeing. Credit to the editors to ripping though thousands of hours of (probably) banal private ramblings to pick out material that shows what drugs can do to someone who would be seen as "successful". It is a little longer than it needed to be to make the point but it did interest me for the majority of the time.

I just wanted to say thank you Rick for releasing these films and recordings and allowing this to be created. Because if this film, it has changed my life and that of my family.

This film has saved my life and made sure that my two boys will have their father while they are growing up in this harsh world we live in, and has saved my marriage.

I wish there was more I could do or say so that you (Rick) would know just how much this means to me and my family, and that you could truly understand in your heart of hearts that you have helped to save a life... My life!

I trust that in some way, some how, God will bless you for having the courage to bring forth these films and recordings. I will keep you in my prayers.

Thank you Rick!

Patrick

I happened to stumble on this movie on HBO while channel surfing. Got sucked into it. Man, did I get sucked into it. Never heard of this guy Rick Kirkham but did I realize that whatever mediocre, normal, family life I have is worth so much. This movie is real and everything in it is as close to reality as you can get. The movie shows how his wife sticks by him (longer than I expected), his kids see him self destruct, his career go down the toilet and yeah, then its the drugs. And yeah all this was caused by his self-destructive nature but I took more than just the obvious. All in all, if you are feeling a little low on life and you feel luck has not not been your side, spend the 75 minutes to watch this movie. It will make you appreciate it.