20,000 kids audition annually in Hollywood, and 5% get cast for something, be it a dog food commercial or whatever. The rest, of course, do not.
The doc feels rather hollow and tinny, but maybe that's the point. After all, the long and winding road to Tinseltown is paved with broken dreams.
From Shirley Temple and The Little Rascals to Dano Plato, Showbiz Kids takes a long, hard, unflinching look at the costs (and tolls) exacted on those chasing fleeting fame. It's definitely a cautionary tale.
As a cinephile, I appreciate all they do.
As a dad, I think Jada Pinkett Smith summed it up best by saying, "I've seen so many children DESTROYED here. It's really sad."
Uh, yeah, sad, to say the least. Meantime, keep an eye on your own kiddos, would you, please?!?
I would not wish that life on anyone: constant rejection, insecurity, predators, addictions galore, staggering financial losses, a vapid worldview, serial relationships, trust issues, lost childhoods...it's a problematic proposition all the way 'round.
There appear to be a handful of now-adult actors who, like Jodie Foster or Brooke Shields, appear well-adjusted, but who really knows?
I'll leave you with the words of Diff'rent Strokes survivor, Todd Bridges, who mentions (in the most gobsmacked way), "I'm the last man standing. Who would have ever seen that coming?"
Not me, Willis, not me. In fact, I barely know what you're talking about.
