There’s something about a real crowd-pleasing Hollywood success story that compels. That is certainly the case of Robert Evans and the new to Blu-Ray classic The Kid Stays in the Picture.
The moniker of the film is taken from an uttering of a Hollywood director back decades before Evans stepped behind the camera. Someone on the set was having an issue with the talent level of a certain “walk-on” that had been “discovered” at a Tinsel Town hotel pool while in town for business. The response from the helmer. This movie’s title!
Evans’ moviemaking mark was the most unusual, lucky of experiences and most of all, a classic tale of pure unadulterated persistence to reinvent oneself when the situation calls for it coupled with all-around thick skin.
Directors Nanette Burstein and Brett Morgen not only have a treasure trove of footage involving Evans and the likes of Francis Ford Coppola, Ali McGraw, Steve McQueen, Jack Nicholson, Roman Polanski, Mario Puzo, and even Frank Sinatra but have crafted a narrative that is utterly dazzling and is as demanding of your attention as any fictional riveter that currently feeds your fancy.
Another facet of Evans’ journey is that there are hills and valleys throughout. This is not necessarily a rags to riches story. This is more of a down-and-out, bored with their job, discovered by a Hollywood insider, put in movies, ran out of the movies, responded by becoming an enormously successful producer, running Paramount Pictures (!) and then falling on harshest of times. Evans had $11 million in 1979, and thanks to a grave mistake, in 1989—he was worth a whopping $37.
But what comes next is what makes this true story feel like a Hollywood classic, he came back like a phoenix and burned bright until his days were done.
Evans’s life, as chronicled in Burstein and Morgen’s instant classic of a documentary, reads like one of the best screenplays penned by some of Hollywood’s most gifted scribes. That is one element to who this film feels like a good old-fashioned page-turner of a book. With the footage the duo has amassed, interviews conducted, both new and from the past, Evans’ life comes alive in a manner that gets the hat tip and tribute it deserves.
The Kid Stays in the Picture also could not be a better moniker for the legacy that is Evans’ years on this planet. He never once lost hope that his presence and motion pictures would be synonymous. That aspect, alone, is extraordinarily inspiring. As someone who has dreams of their words being spoken on the silver screen, this film was a shot in the arm of inspiration at a time that could not have been needed more. Evans’ story is not necessarily unusual in that the landscape of Hollywood—its history is filled with people who fought tooth and nail to stay relevant in a city that loves to chew you up and spit you out.
It’s just with Evans, there’s a personality streak and an overall persona that is utterly irresistible and his record of producing films gives meaning to the word hot streak. It began… with Godfather! Then, he followed that up with producing Chinatown, The Godfather Part II, Marathon Man, Black Sunday, Urban Cowboy, and Robert Altman’s Popeye. Some might argue, he had the Midas touch. Not bad for a former salesman from back east whose Los Angeles vacation changed the direction of his life and made his legacy. He even stayed busy in the film-producing business, giving audiences The Saint, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, Sliver, and of course The Cotton Club.
The interviews that the filmmakers scored, the footage secured, and hearing Evans in his own words repeatedly in different landscapes and formats all add up to the rare engaging documentary that tributes a Hollywood legend as he (or she) deserves it. Kudos to all.
What also is incredibly intimate about this story is that Evans also serves as the narrator. So, the stories, the waxing poetic he does are all from the horse’s mouth. That provides a layer of authenticity—and most importantly emotion—to what we’re experiencing on the screen that adds layers of resonance to the entire project.
Evans story will mesmerize and serve both equally as a stellar example of enlightening entertainment and impressive moviemaking.
The bonus features are diverse and delve deeper into just exactly who this man was, through his words and those from others. The featurettes are literally told from two sides of the same coin. They always say that a story has three sides, the subject, the observer/participant/and the truth. What’s so fascinating about these bonus features that it will be up to the viewer to draw their own conclusion as to what exactly happened given each situation.
The Truth According to Bob and The Truth According to Others is a split dichotomy of the highest order and rivets on both sides. It is highly recommended as it emboldens the movie itself and adds layers to an already rich story.
With The Truth According to Bob, the first of the extras is called The Film That Saved Hollywood—it is a longer version of the film that was shown to board members of Gulf Western in a plea to keep Paramount Studios open, of which Evans was head at the time. It worked! What’s awesome is that during the film we get a little short commentary from Evans himself!
In The Kid Speaks, we get an insight into Evans on various occasions in his own words, while On the Red Carpet features the multifaceted Hollywood legend on various premieres and events talking the talk, and yes, walking the walk—including a 2003 event that saluted the longtime Hollywood producer and stalwart. It is pretty amazing.
Up Close with The Kid is a nice five-minute clip of the subject on Nightline on ABC which adds even further layers to this already rich story.
Both The Spirit of Life Award and The 2003 David O. Selznick Lifetime Achievement Award features Evans making acceptance speeches for two different awards and adds further awareness into the man, legend, the myth, and… frankly, the human being. The Spirit of Life award found him introduced by a fellow legend—who we recently lost to Covid—Larry King. The David O. Selznick award finds Oscar winner and good friend Dustin Hoffman (and Marathon Man star) doing the introduction. These featurettes are priceless!
In The Truth According to Others segment, I would suggest beginning with the screen commentary by Morgan and Burstein. Each gets their own time in the spotlight and offers their two cents independently of the other. It is a fantastic idea because these two clearly worked together so well together to hear their individual responses to Evans and his life is electric.
Showgirls on Evans is a featurette that is truly just a clip from The David Susskind show and actually quite hilarious.
You do not want to miss The Evans Gag Reel is pure bliss… why? It’s the legendary Hoffman doing his best Evans impression on the set of Marathon Man.
This is a consummate documentary—regardless of the source. But given who exactly we are chronicling, saluting, and exploring, for those of us who live and breathe Hollywood history and all of its nuances, The Kid Stays in the Picture is pure perfection.
Grade: A
Bonus Features: A