Exit Through the Gift Shop

"It's not Gone With the Wind, but there's probably a moral in there somewhere."
--Rhys Ifans

(2010) Art and Cultural Documentary
Starring Banksy, Thierry Guetta, Shepard Fairey, Rhys Ifans and Invader
Directed by Banksy
Produced by Holly Cushing, Jaimie D'Cruz, and James Gay-Rees
Running time: 87 minutes
Rated R

According to the narrator (Rhys Ifans), street art has become the biggest counter culture movement since Punk. This pleases me, as I was never a big fan of Punk. I mean no disrespect to the genre. It's just that, since the songs are often condensed to under a minute, that's the amount of time the DJ (me) has to find the next song. I know this seems irrelevant to a movie review, but it really isn't. I imagine the rushed frenzy I used to experience while spinning for Punk shows in downtown Austin is probably the same sort of kick these street artists get whilst trying not to land a hot spot in the poky. The difference is, they liked it. I just wanted to smoke a bunch of cigarettes. So you want to know if this flick made me nervous? A little. But it's still worth a viewing. If for no other reason than to get a glimpse at Banksy's art. He's a genius. And he's more than moderately sexy in his hoodie with his mechanized voice.

So the rundown is thus: Thierry is an amateur filmmaker...actually, that is such a lie. He's a nut job with a camera. Evidently, he picked the thing up one fine afternoon and was physically incapable of putting it down again. He filmed hundreds of strangers without their consent and somehow stumbled into the world of street art via a relative (Invader). Lucky for Thierry, he's not that offensive, and his cousin led him to Banksy. Thierry actually tricked many a hopeful street artist into believing he was shooting a documentary, and that's how he scored most of the footage featured in the flick. When in reality, he was just stockpiling mounds of unchecked tape in his garage. Eventually, the story flipped and Banksy became the real documentary filmmaker.  Thank God.

If you know anything about being a gifted self-promoter with questionable talent and exceptional style (Madonna, Marilyn Manson, Lady Gaga, Andy Warhol), then you'll get this flick. Honestly, I probably wouldn't watch it again, but I will always remember Banksy. If you watch the movie, make sure you also watch the bonus features.

So...
One spider for fancy art.
One spider for crazy man ranting.
One spider for teaching me about street art...wait, I already said that.
3/5 spiders