Movie Review #110

"My Kid Could Paint That" is a documentary about a NY state 4-year old whose abstract paintings start showing in real galleries and selling for thousands of dollars. Halfway through the documentary, a "60 minutes" show casts doubt on whether the 4-year old actually paints the pictures or gets a lot of help from her dad. This is a movie-within-the-movie as the filmmaker himself becomes close with the family but yet struggles whether to believe the allegations of fraud are true, and wonders how his movie will impact the family. In the end there is no absolutely conclusive proof either way and the filmmaker tries to show what he sees and lets the audience decide. [Spoiler alert: it seems really obvious to me that the 4-year old was getting lots of help. Attempts to get the girl to be taped while painting results in a painting that looks a lot less sophisticated that the others. The mother seemed to be innocent to it but the father looked really guilty, all shifty and sweaty, he even resembles "Balloon Boy's" dad!] Really enjoyed this documentary about the meaning of art, hype, and the importance of the story behind the art. I tried to find out what happened to the girl now (the movie was from 2007) ... there still is a website up but I don't know if the paintings still command thousands of dollars. Google and Wikipedia, you have failed me! (The paintings are quite nice, I would hang one in my living room). Rotten Tomatoes gave this film 94%.