The Price of Being a Child Star

River Phoenix & Wil Wheaton

'People who have often been directed and pushed and molded to varying degrees get a rare opportunity to put their stories in their own words, with the help of a filmmaker who knows how to combine these disparate experiences into something coherent. The result is a chance to get a more rounded sense of people who rarely get this kind of nuanced treatment.'

NPR

I also liked that writer and director Alex Winter didn't fill his film with psychiatrists and film critics, but let the actors talk for themselves.  Except for actor River Phoenix, who is no longer with us, most of the actors involved told their own stories.  In some ways, this made the film more personal, but in other ways, it caused a lack of balance that I found a little distracting.

So many of the child stars featured referenced their parents, and often not in a flattering light.  Most of the parent/child relationships really suffered with the role reversal of having the child, the bread winner of the family.  For some reason, I was curious to hear from some of the parents themselves.  Evan Rachel Wood for example, referenced her parents often, placing responsibilities on them, yet not really sharing any specifics in much detail.

Henry Thomas in 1990's Psycho IV: The Beginning

Henry Thomas and Wil Wheaton both spoke of strained relationships with their parents.  Mara Wilson and Todd Bridges spoke more positively of their relationships with their parents, but I felt like with each of these actors, a story was started, but never really finished.  I get that many child stars feel they're living out dreams that weren't necessarily their own, but I wished Winters would have gone deeper in one of the stories, maybe especially that of would be child actor Marc Price.

Indictment: The McMartin Trial (1990)

Price is not a child star, but his mother certainly wants him to be.  Their story was one of the most interesting to me, and one that by clicking on Price's IMDB page, doesn't seem to be going the way mom has planned.

Cameron Boyce

It was ironic to me that one of the saddest moments of the film, one that hit me the most, was finding out that Disney star Cameron Boyce had died shortly after the film was made. Boyce's died at the age of just 20 from an epileptic seizure.  I'm sure many who watched the film already know of the actors passing, but I hadn't really heard of him before, and finding out about his death in the films last few minutes was a bit of a shock.

Of course in part, the shock was the loss of a talented actor at such a young age.  In part however, it was rather a jolt that the actors death was not connected to the theme being explored in the film.  In the clips featuring Boyce, he appeared to be handling his success better than many of the others, and seemed to have a decent relationship with his father.  Although not directly, with the way Winter's chose to reveal his death, there was a connection, intentional or not, to his child star career. 

I think the lack of balance extended to the director himself.  Given Winter was a child actor, I found it odd he didn't include himself.  Of course as the writer and director, the film acted as has voice, but I felt he was trying to say something, without really saying it.  I enjoyed the film very much, and was left saddened by the stories told.  Yet there were so many other voices I would have liked to have heard from. 

Mrs. Fletcher (2019)

 Winter included the stories of both Wil Wheaton and River Phoenix from 1986's Stand By Me. He didn't however, include their co-stars Corey Feldman or Jerry O'Connell.  I can understand why Feldman might have been problematic, he's been interviewed many times on the subject, as well as his relationship with Michael Jackson.  O'Connell however, seems, at least on the surface, to be a relatively well adjusted man, something that may have complicated the story Winter wanted to leave the audience with.

Wil Wheaton

Winter also used a clip of Wil Wheaton in his undies from 1987's The Curse.  I guess it was in part to demonstrate how many child stars are sexualized and exploited by both individuals and the studios and the business.  Unfortunately, Wheaton wasn't discussing that subject when the clip was shown.  What Wheaton did discuss was his negative experience making the film, and how much he hated the 'teen idol' part of his career. The issue was really only broached by Evan Rachel Wood, when she discussed a director that I can only assume was Bryan Singer. 

The Curse (1987)

 I'm guessing that Winter didn't want to dive too heavily into the issue.  If he had, it would have meant having to bring up the biggest child star in the world, Michael Jackson.  That would have only proved to have complicated the films focus. I must say, I did watch without pausing or stopping, something that is rare for me these days....  I also think Winter did a great job with the interviews with the multi-generational actors he chose to include. 

 I just couldn't help feeling that so many issues, from exploitation to child stardom itself, were brought up, but not really explained or explored. Maybe that's because although there are some shared experiences, there is really no common trajectory to child stardom or any induvial career..  Each of the actors featured had their own unique stories, proving that that all though we think we know everything about the experience of being a child star, we really don't have a clue. What was clear however, was that no matter how difficult child stardom was, for most, having it disappear was even more of a struggle.