I'M STILL HERE (2010) (**1/2)

The conceit of this Andy Kaufman-style faux documentary never fooled me for once. It didn't fool a lot of people; some of the doubters in the press are featured in the film. The premise has Joaquin Phoenix slipping into drugs and alcohol abuse while he quits acting to start a rap career. The idea never fooled me because of one major reason — director Casey Affleck. Affleck is Phoenix's brother-in-law and to think that his wife would be fine with him filming the downward spiral of her brother after her other brother died of a drug overdose seemed very unlikely.

So what are we left with, especially now that Phoenix and Affleck have come clean? Phoenix gives a remarkable performance as "Joaquin Phoenix," a pretentious hipster actor who wants greater control over his art so he's going to become a rapper. We watch as "Phoenix" parties hard and abuses his assistant. His erratic behavior extends to his interactions with his friends and those worried about his career. He arrives late for a big meeting with P Diddy, who seems upset that this actor just thinks he can walk into the music business and succeed.

Does the film work as a satire of an out of control artist? Not really. The problem is that the entire film seems like an in-joke that we don't understand. The parts that work beyond the production crew or embedded Hollywood types are standard material from hundreds of similar films. With people like Jack Nicholson, Billy Crystal, Danny Glover, Bruce Willis, Robin Wright, Danny DeVito, Jamie Foxx, Mos Def, Sean Penn, Natalie Portman, Ben Stiller and Edward James Olmos all making appearances, one starts to wonder who is in on the joke and who isn't. Then one wonders whether those that weren't are pissed.

Of course the film features "Phoenix's" famed appearance on David Letterman's THE LATE SHOW. He looks disheveled with unkempt hair and sunglasses. Letterman asks questions and "Phoenix" gives one-word answers, spurring the host to mock him. The film then follows "Phoenix" after the show where he breaks down and wonders if he has ruined his career. That's a question that one really wonders at this point.

One has to give Phoenix credit for the commitment he gave to this project. He took a year plus off from acting to virtual act this part in public for that whole time. His performance is believable and engaging. When it seems that his actions are destroying his life, we feel for him, which with the same material wouldn't be as moving if Phoenix wasn't playing "Phoenix."

But in the end, I ask, "What's the point of this failed experiment?" For Phoenix, why put yourself on the line so much for a satire that doesn't have anything new to say about celebrity? He must have thought it was hilarious. It's fine to do things where not everyone is in on the joke, but it helps when the joke is funny.