I love Netflix, and I love a lot of their original productions. They have produced so much incredible content, in such a short amount of time. So when I sat down to watch this "documentary", I was expecting a quality film.
While there's been a slew of new documentaries about the JonBenét murder lately, recycling a case that hasn't evolved much in years, I thought "hey, it's Netflix, I'm sure it's good". It turns out that you have to take the title very literally. This film is entirely about Colorado locals who go through what must have been a parody of what a casting for a real documentary about JonBenét (using crazy people instead of real actors) could have looked like.
Indeed, you see a number of different people auditioning for a handful of the principals, such as the real-life John and Patsy, the brother Burke and various others. Most of the time, these "actors" talk about themselves and not about anything related to the Ramseys or the murder case. One disgusting guy describes bondage involving breasts, another explains how a handwriting expert identified an injury to her ankle based on what her writing looked like.
The "documentary" offers no new information or insight into the case - instead it replays various moments and occasionally far-fetched theories. One such theory revolves around the nine-year old brother smashing her sister's skull with a hammer - this is dramatically re- created with kids pounding a watermelon with said hammer.
The subject of JonBenét's bed-wetting is also brought up - for what reason I'm unsure.
While it's entirely possible that the real-life Ramsey family is not entirely innocent in what happened, it's absolutely disgusting that they are subjected to this garbage film. I'm not sure I can see the art in joking about the brutal death of a six-year old, especially in such a gratuitous and ridiculous way.
I'm sure the "documentary" is meant to be a commentary on how the media, reality TV, social media etc. in this day and age is used to promulgate scandal, sex and murder in a blase fashion. This inane "documentary" does nothing to halt this trend - in fact, it does the opposite.
While there's been a slew of new documentaries about the JonBenét murder lately, recycling a case that hasn't evolved much in years, I thought "hey, it's Netflix, I'm sure it's good". It turns out that you have to take the title very literally. This film is entirely about Colorado locals who go through what must have been a parody of what a casting for a real documentary about JonBenét (using crazy people instead of real actors) could have looked like.
Indeed, you see a number of different people auditioning for a handful of the principals, such as the real-life John and Patsy, the brother Burke and various others. Most of the time, these "actors" talk about themselves and not about anything related to the Ramseys or the murder case. One disgusting guy describes bondage involving breasts, another explains how a handwriting expert identified an injury to her ankle based on what her writing looked like.
The "documentary" offers no new information or insight into the case - instead it replays various moments and occasionally far-fetched theories. One such theory revolves around the nine-year old brother smashing her sister's skull with a hammer - this is dramatically re- created with kids pounding a watermelon with said hammer.
The subject of JonBenét's bed-wetting is also brought up - for what reason I'm unsure.
While it's entirely possible that the real-life Ramsey family is not entirely innocent in what happened, it's absolutely disgusting that they are subjected to this garbage film. I'm not sure I can see the art in joking about the brutal death of a six-year old, especially in such a gratuitous and ridiculous way.
I'm sure the "documentary" is meant to be a commentary on how the media, reality TV, social media etc. in this day and age is used to promulgate scandal, sex and murder in a blase fashion. This inane "documentary" does nothing to halt this trend - in fact, it does the opposite.