Watch Paul Williams Still Alive For Free

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Fantastic!

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

I'm sorry, kids....having written "The Rainbow Connection" and taking some time off for Recovery does not, in any way, give anyone the complete picture or even the scope of Paul Williams' music. I was SOOOO disappointed in this film. I felt sorry for Williams and his wife...this guy just started following them around and filming everything - no discretion, no important questions...and a focus on a small handful of songs from Paul Williams' incredibly prolific career. He asked NO intelligent or even non-cloying questions - like where were you born, what did you like in school, what was it like working with Kris Kristofferson and Barbra Streisand, who's your favorite Muppet?, has your process changed? What are you working on now, any new music? Etc...etc....this was done by a guy who made a documentary expecting Williams to come up with the whole script....he did no research, never listed Williams' credits or mentioned how many movies he wrote for...just loved his 'rainbow connection' sung by folks from all over the world. He spent a fortune and did nothing but dull Williams' reputation...I should have realized from the start the 'maker' was a jerk...why would you even THINK he was dead....the internet is readily available to use for RESEARCH as well as for publishing your own flat ideas.

One of the best and worst things going for this documentary is that Paul Williams is participating in the filming. The director didn't ask a lot of introspective questions; however, this really wasn't an interview as it was a film crew and director tagging along videotaping a busy Paul - during meetings, lunch and dinner, etc.. And when the director and Paul finally get around to conducting a really in-depth conversation, it was either cut short by Paul or the director. Having Paul Williams, somewhat at the director's disposal, I would have liked for him to have discussed The Phantom of the Paradise more, the conventions, his opinions on some of his contemporaries or music from the '70s through today, any clean road stories, but, as the director noted,"Paul doesn't look back". That being the case, the director might have done better in-depth interviewing others about Paul Williams and reduced his screen time to about 25% of the movie.Nonetheless, still a good movie about a fellow childhood hero.

This film is a must-see for anyone who grew up in the 1970s, back when you couldn't watch TV without coming into contact with Paul Williams. You'll be transported back to the days when you sat on the shag carpeting in front of your family's console television, close enough to reach out and turn the knob to change channels. And the soundtrack will conjure up memories of riding in the back seat of your best friend's parents' station wagon, listening to Casey Kasem counting down the Top 40.Archival footage of Williams skydiving in an episode of "Circus of the Stars" is inserted at three different points in the film, each time conveying a different mood, coinciding with the stages of his life. Williams describes the feeling of going from A-list celebrity at the top of the world, to depressed, isolated drug addict, to sober husband and father who finally has control of both his career and his self-esteem.Director Stephen Kessler lives out the fantasy of finding your childhood idol, getting to follow him around, and becoming close friends. Don't try this yourself, because you'll probably be arrested for stalking. Just enjoy the hilarious relationship that develops between these two men and the inspiring story they have to tell.

This is a wonderful treat for Paul Williams fans (of which I am one), and it's also a semi-serious portrait of recovery and survival from 1970's celebrity and the excesses that often came with that lifestyle.My only problem with this film is that the director, Stephen Kessler, a self-professed fan, is a presence in the film the same way Michael Moore often is in his movies. Kessler is likable and it's apparent that the film probably couldn't have been presented without some insight as to how and why he made it (no way he could have been invisible). And some of the film's funniest moments stem from the awkward and sometimes intrusive presence of Kessler and his crew.But I would have liked a better sense of Kessler as an individual and a passionate fan rather than a challenged documentarian (he's a constant presence but we don't get to know him well enough). His approach also left me wanting a more linear treatment, like that of an A&E Biography; Williams' output was so extensive that much of his career retrospective here seems rushed. Kessler includes a lot of awkward cinema-verite moments, many of which are entertaining, but for me there's not enough coverage of Williams' acting, writing and recording work and I would have liked more focus on that.Still, I'm grateful that he made the film, and that Mr. Williams was a (sometimes) willing subject.