Gary (2024)
6.5
What begins as a redemptive biography about an interesting and wronged child actor quickly turns into a sleazy true-crime documentary
Movie
United Kingdom
English
Documentary
2024
ROBIN DASHWOOD
Gary Coleman
92 min
TLDR
Hijacking a dead person’s story long after his death is distasteful at best and disrespectful at worst.
What it's about
Tells the tale of child actor Gary Coleman (Diff'rent Strokes) and the struggles he faced with fame, love, money, and family.
The take
How do you make a documentary about a man who was exploited his entire life while still respecting his true, dignified self? Whatever the answer is, it’s unlikely you’ll find it in Gary, a biography detailing the ups and downs (but mostly the downs) of Gary Coleman’s life. It’s less a holistic portrait than a he-said-she-said narrative, comprised of a cacophony of voices insisting their version of Coleman is the truth. There are only a handful of people who seem to really know Coleman. One of them, Dion Mal, mentions at one point in the film that the best way to celebrate Coleman is to remember that he enjoyed many parts of his life. It’s a shame the filmmakers disregarded that sentiment and went for a true-crime-esque tone instead.
What stands out
The off-putting tone of the documentary. It insists on being investigative and dramatic instead of just sticking to the specificities of Coleman’s life.
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