I’m Still Here is a very odd, very disappointing film. It is a mockumentary based on the premise that actor Joaquin Phoenix has a core meltdown and quits the movie business for a hip hop career. In order to make this movie Borat/Bruno style, Phoenix went deep into character perpetuating a hoax that lasted from 2008 to sometime last week when director Casey Affleck and Phoenix came clean. While the film has its moments, I would have hoped for much more of a payoff for all that effort.

The hoax itself was pretty elaborate with Phoenix staying in character for at least two years and only his closest confederates were in on it. And while it was speculated that the whole thing was a hoax, it had a decent amount of traction because here was this guy who was a great actor and he was showing up doing a drunk/stoned Zack Galifianakis character falling over, mumbling on Letterman and dropping some of the worst hip hop imaginable. I even gave it some attention back when video popped up of Phoenix doing his hip hop at a club and falling off the stage. Thankfully for my own personal integrity, I allowed for it being a hoax. In fact I really hoped it was a hoax. Now that we know for sure, I just wish it had amounted to more.

I’m Still Here doesn’t show any kind of decent into craziness or start off with a meltdown, it just shows some award show footage and finds a bearded Phoenix ranting. I suppose this could pass as the meltdown but if that is what it is meant to be, it is too soft to justify what is to come. Next he is on the red carpet announcing that he is quitting acting to focus on music. From here the film is a collection of disparate scenes that form the thinnest of narratives as Phoenix meanders through trying to get a hip hop producer, watches news reports about how crazy he is and deals with leaks in his organization feeding magazines the truth about the hoax.

His search for a producer leads to some great moments as he tries to land P.Diddy and Diddy is understandably hesitant. It can be hard to tell who all is in on it and who isn’t but I think it is safe to say that Diddy is not. His reactions to Phoenix are hilarious and these moments are by far the strongest in the film.

There are a lot of really funny moments in the movie and when it is funny it is really funny but unfortunately these moments are way too far between to justify such a major hoax. I think this is my biggest problem with it ultimately, for what they went through to achieve this film I feel like there should have been a much bigger pay off instead of walking out of the theater asking ‘what was the point of all this?’ I mean I suppose successfully perpetuating a hoax of this kind is justification on its own but only the people who are in on the joke can really enjoy it. For everyone else I think they will either feel stupid for being duped or proud of themselves for calling it but what it amounts to as far as the movie is concerned is ultimately unsatisfying. It also stretches into about the longest 108 minutes I have sat through and I think at least 75 of those minutes are used for the long and drawn out tracking shot that makes up the ending.

Again, I would be lying if I said there weren’t funny moments and moments that were shocking, particularly those between Phoenix and his alcoholic assistant who is super shady and may be the media leak. He might also take a dumper on Phoenix’s face. Maybe. But as I said before, these moments are too stretched out and get stale eventually as there is only so much of this routine the audience can take. If the film actually went somewhere, these gaps in humor would have been filled with something interesting but as it is it comes down to the audience essentially watching a bunch of clips on Youtube that are only occasionally amusing. I suppose Affleck and Phoenix could fall back on calling it ‘art’ but if they do then they are left with pretty poor art. I give them props for pulling off such a big hoax but I am disappointed with what they did with it. There was a lot of potential here and it was ultimately wasted. That is really too bad.

They also really hamstrung themselves by revealing that the film was a hoax right before release. It would have been much better to have watched it wondering if it was a put on instead of knowing for sure. I was pretty convinced it was a hoax before the announcement but it doesn’t make much sense to confirm that before audiences have a chance to be duped. For every one person who is media savvy and sees through the trick there are thousands who accept whatever is on the screen (see: Blair Witch Project) and this could have meant something if it managed to actually fool people. As it is, it just exists as an oddity, a barely amusing curiosity that leaves you feeling like the real joke was on you for paying money to sit through it.

Conclusion [6.5 out of 10]

Scoring this movie is hard. It was amusing in its way and is the product of something pretty impressive but with the wasted potential and long moments with nothing interesting happening it is also very hard to recommend. I hope that Phoenix gets back to mainstream acting and that when and if he does people don’t hold this whole thing against him. That would be too bad. Even in this film he is a good actor and maintains the character the whole way through. To have done that in all personal appearances for two years is really something. I just wish that it would have amounted to something worth all that effort.