[yasr_overall_rating]
A fame-obsessed average Joe escapes a mental institution with a band of misfits for one last desperate attempt to be famous.
Attention is a dangerous drug. It can consume you, take over your life and guide your future decisions. The quest for fame is a road that many have traveled. Some have conquered the beast while others have failed. “Crazy Famous” examines that quest for the need of attention, exploring the ways it can manipulate one’s perspective and ultimately endanger one’s life.
Bob (Gregory Lay) is an average male on a quest to become famous. Bob wants to feel fame and see himself on TV. He will do just about anything to get there and that’s exactly what leads Bob to land in a mental institution. Bob has become so enamored with becoming famous that he not only places his life in danger but also his mental stability. Talk about a rough audition. Bob’s childhood audition is one of the roughest I’ve seen any actor experience.
“Crazy Famous” challenges the thought of fame. What actually drives a person to believe they can become a celebrity? Is it talent? Desire? Is it simply a need for attention? What exactly makes a person seek out the big lights of the entertainment industry? This film examines all of that through the eyes of mental patients.
The mood of this film is optimistic and it never feels like the characters are going to achieve their goal. Bob is so driven to become famous that he doesn’t understand how his actions affect other people. He can’t spot the differences between love, affection, intrigue, or worry, he is a mental patient and he doesn’t even know it. He is simply driven by his love for fame and his journey to become famous.
I found the movie to be strangely compelling, the sheer thought of mental patients possibly saving the world is crazy in itself. Watching them rob a store with guns is even more chaotic, especially with them not realizing how crazy and deranged they actually look in the process. Some parts of the film feel like dramatic horror when you actually realize what’s going on in the scene. The movie is comedic with a little twist of strange and that is where the true comedy lies.
Available on VOD, Digital HD & DVD Tuesday, January 9th
