If you grew up in the 1970s, you could not have missed singer-songwriter-actor-showman Paul Williams. He was everywhere. Williams wrote songs like “We’ve Only Just Begun,” the Oscar-winning “Evergreen” (co-written with Barbra Streisand), the theme to Love Boat, and the Muppet classic “Rainbow Connection.” He also wrote one of the first 45 rpm singles I bought as a kid, Three Dog Night’s “Just an Old Fashioned Love Song.” He appeared in movies like Smokey and The Bandit (1977) and Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973).
Additionally, Paul Williams was a regular on Johnny Carson’s late night show and appeared on many other TV shows like The Muppets. And, just as suddenly as he came into our lives and dominated TV, movies, and radio, he disappeared.
Director Stephen Kessler was a big fan of Williams as a child, and like many of us decades later, wondered what had happened to Williams and assumed he was dead. So he tracked down the singer, who was still touring in small venues, and began a documentary, Paul Williams Still Alive (2011).
The movie is not a straight-up documentary about the career of Paul Williams, as Kessler ends up being a part of the story of the film. Surprisingly for someone who was everywhere in popular culture at one time, Williams does not seem to embrace being in what is in some ways a modern reality show, with cameras following him every place he goes.
Williams is also somewhat resistant to analyzing his own life in front of the camera, putting off Kessler’s attempts to get Williams to discuss his feelings about how drugs affected his career. So we have lots of shots of Williams being slightly annoyed at the camera and Kessler’s digging.
Instead of deep introspection from Willimas, Kessler shows his own feelings about traveling with Williams in the Philippines (Kessler is scared, while Williams seems to soldier through every adversity). And Kessler tries to provoke a response from Williams by getting him to watch a talk show where Williams was obviously high.
How much you enjoy the film may depend on how you appreciate the focus on the director-subject relationship. It makes the movie a little less traditional and might engage some viewers more than a straight-up documentary. I appreciated the other part of the film that told us more about Paul Williams, his career, and his current life. But I must admit that it was the combination of the two film styles that told me other things about Paul Williams, such as the way he still perseveres and his refreshing desire to avoid revealing everything about himself.
While Williams rejects the opportunity for self-analysis, you still get to see what happened to one of the big icons of the 1970s and learn a little about the man indirectly. If you ever wondered what happened to Paul Williams, Paul Williams Still Alive is worth your time.
Other Reviews Because Why Should You Trust Me? Rotten Tomatoes reveals that critics liked Paul Williams Still Alive more than general audience members, giving the film a 97% critics rating and a 79% audience rating. Donald Liebenson at the Chicago Sun-Times found the movie interesting but was annoyed by the way the director inserted himself into the story. Meanwhile, Sodajerker has an audio interview with Paul Williams where Williams discusses his career and the documentary.
(Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)
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