Film

Guest of Cindy Sherman (2008)

Movie review

From Short Review - NY

***** (Five stars)
Director Paul H-O began his career as the Wayne (as in Wayne’s World) of New York City’s art scene. Really. In the early ’90s he started his own public-access TV show called Gallery Beat. In his documentary Guest of Cindy Sherman, Paul brings the art world of the ’80s and ’90s down to an accessible level for those relatively unfamiliar with it. And while the story is based around art, it is also a love story. Paul befriends—and ultimately winds up dating—the iconic and notoriously reclusive artist Cindy Sherman. It is his relationship with Cindy that takes him from the outskirts of the elite art community to the status of a true insider. However, he is ultimately unable to deal with playing trophy boyfriend to his famous girlfriend. While Paul’s in-your-face interview style and seemingly self-indulgent tantrums prove irksome at times, his humor and courage to film himself in such an unself-conscious way (not to mention his myriad candid interviews with major art players) more than compensate for any quirks of his outsize personality.—Lindsey Unterberger, TONY Kids Web editor

[This is a TONY staff review, written for the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival. It is not considered an official review and should not be read as such. Please think of it as a casual impression from a movie-loving friend.] 

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