Heckler

2008

Heckler

Critics Consensus

No consensus yet.

60%

TOMATOMETER

Total Count: 5

53%

Audience Score

User Ratings: 1,897
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Movie Info

Nearly anyone who performs in public on a regular basis is familiar with the notion of the audience member who makes their opinions loudly and clearly known during the show, and like most comedians Jamie Kennedy has dealt with his fair share of hecklers over the course of his career. However, when Kennedy moved from stand-up comic to actor, he encountered a new breed of heckler -- the on-line film critic who posts angry rants on the internet, taking Kennedy to task for nearly every aspect of such critically drubbed movies as Son Of The Mask and Malibu's Most Wanted. Kennedy teamed up with director Michael Addis to make the documentary Heckler, which explores the increasingly combative relationship between artists and their audience. Heckler features interviews with a number of comics and musicians discussing their experiences with loud-mouthed spectators (including Bill Maher, David Cross, Louie Anderson, Rob Zombie, Joe Rogan and David Allen Grier), but Kennedy goes a step further, confronting a number of the writers who've bad-mouthed his work and questioning their role in the creative process. Kennedy and Addis also talk with filmmaker Uwe Boll, who went so far as to challenge his critics to a boxing match. Heckler received its world premiere at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival.

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Cast

Jamie Kennedy
Carrie Fisher
Dave Attell
Louis Anderson
George Lucas
David "Elsewhere" Bernal
Andrew Dice Clay
Bill Maher
Robert Englund
Mike Ditka
Rob Zombie
Howie Mandel
Craig Ferguson
Judah Friedlander
Larry Flynt
David Cross
Peter Guber
Gilbert Gottfried
Christa Campbell
Arsenio Hall
Ron Jeremy
Jewel
Tom Green (III)
Jon Lovitz
Roseanne Barr
Rod Lurie
Patton Oswalt
Nicole Mandich
Drew Pinsky
Eli Roth
Joel Schumacher
Pauly Shore
Mike White
David Wain
Harland Williams
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Critic Reviews for Heckler

All Critics (5) | Top Critics (2) | Fresh (3) | Rotten (2)

  • Addis and Kennedy have tapped into a rich subject here.

    Nov 17, 2008 | Full Review…

    Peter Debruge

    Variety
    Top Critic

  • Kennedy objects to objections about his mean-spirited jokes; the unexplored subtext of this solid film is why all humor has gone negative?

    Sep 12, 2008 | Rating: B+ | Full Review…

    Amy Nicholson

    I.E. Weekly
    Top Critic

  • Heckler isn't perfect, or even especially memorable, but if nothing else, it's at least the best movie that Kennedy's ever been involved with. And you can put that on the poster!

    Nov 25, 2008 | Rating: 3/5

    Christopher Null

    Filmcritic.com

  • Heckler doesn't penetrate like a proper documentary should; it's more silly than exploratory, missing a prime opportunity to crack open a dialogue between critic and performer that could generously benefit both parties.

    Sep 1, 2008 | Rating: C- | Full Review…

    Brian Orndorf

    BrianOrndorf.com

  • Jamie Kennedy and the film's director, Michael Addis, present an amazing amount of footage (including the Uwe Boll vs. The Critics boxing matches) and an impressive spectrum of sources (everyone from Jewel to George Lucas).

    Aug 6, 2008 | Full Review…

    Staci Layne Wilson

    Horror.com
View All Critic Reviews (5)

Audience Reviews for Heckler

  • Jan 16, 2013
    A film that thinks it has a lot to say, but very rarely varies from its one, obnoxiously repetitive message that simply reads "I'm thin skinned." Hecklers themselves are thoughtless stooges who announce their presence and proceed to put down the performing comic, politician, musician, etc. for their own benefit, or detriment. It's evident that the directors of the film quickly ran out of material to finish their documentary and had to move on to something else entertainers bitch about: their adoring public. All manner of big names show up to give their two sense when it comes to films critics, Internet pariahs, and anyone who has a dissenting opinion from these creators, directors, and studio heads. The bulk of the film is valid in its assessment of people who simply say mean hearted things for the sake of their own popularity or even notoriety. Jamie Kennedy is the ringmaster in this documentary and resurfaces time and again to engage film critics in debates on why they deemed his films "Malibu's Most Wanted" and "Son of the Mask" as utter trash. Now, Kennedy does get a lot of unneeded slack in these reviews, and I agree that that's not fair, but the many interviews with other people tend to remain limited on the assumption that all criticism, of any kind, is wrong and make every creator feel bad about themselves and their work. Many of the people who come out to give interviews in this film are genuinely interesting people who vow not to care what people think and that the bad can't touch them, such as Mike Ditka, Craig Ferguson, and the vast amount of comedians who get heckled every show, and that truly sucks for them, but when Joel friggin' Schumacher showed up, I knew there was little credibility to these people's words. There is definitely something to protecting positivity in this world, but not at the expense of those who disagree to be heckled themselves.
    Spencer S Super Reviewer
  • Jun 17, 2012
    Good documentary - the best parts are the interviews with all of the comics and the hilarious exchanges between Jamie and his worst critics.
    Sarah P Super Reviewer
  • Dec 04, 2011
    Hecklers come with the territory so quit crying about it and do your job.
    Joe M Super Reviewer
  • Oct 26, 2010
    The best movie Jamie Kennedy has ever made. I love comedy docs. This one deals with not just hecklers in comedy but critics in general. I really liked how they transitioned from comedians dealing with hecklers to critics and what they're purpose is. Which isn't much of a purpose.
    rocko p Super Reviewer
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