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© St. Petersburg Times, published September 12, 2002
One producer's self-love fest
The Kid Stays in the Picture (R) (98 min.) -- Robert Evans is a Hollywood legend and doesn't mind reminding us of that in The Kid Stays in the Picture, based upon his equally immodest autobiography. Evans, who rescued Paramount Pictures in the 1970s with such films as Love Story, The Godfather and Chinatown, narrates this fascinating assortment of candid photographs and clips from his landmark movies, dropping names with such bravura that the screen practically blushes from embarrassment.
"There are three sides to every story: Your side, my side and the truth," Evans is quoted at the movie's onset. It quickly becomes obvious that the documentary is interested only in Evans' side, seldom allowing anyone else to speak up, contradictory or otherwise. Even the quotes attributed to others are Evans impersonating them, occasionally audio filtered to simulate telephone conversations. The truth becomes as elusive as the starlets Evans chased for years.
But what an ego trip this is, brimming with gossip and celebrity sightings as Evans evolves from not-so-humble beginnings as co-creator of Evan Picone sportswear (he claims to have invented the trend of women wearing slacks). From there he's discovered poolside in Beverly Hills by actor Norma Shearer, who asks if he'll play her late husband, producer Irving Thalberg, in The Man of a Thousand Faces.
The book and film's title comes from Evans' second acting gig, playing a matador in The Sun Also Rises to the consternation of the book's author, Ernest Hemingway, who wanted Evans fired. The kid stays in the picture, producer Darryl F. Zanuck declared after a day of shooting. Evans moved up the studio ranks despite a scandalous marriage to Love Story star Ali MacGraw, a cocaine bust and a brush with murder associated with his film The Cotton Club.
Those topics almost interfere with Evans' self-love fest, which begins amusingly, gets repetitive and sounds almost delusional by the closing credits. Filmmakers Nanette Burstein and Brett Morgen, who co-authored the book, always find interesting ways to make photographs come alive, with pans, zooms and sound or smoke effects turning still life into a form of motion picture. Often they choose just the right photo to underscore Evan's recollection of conversations, as if the photo was taken the moment those things were spoken.
The Kid Stays in the Picture has its fairness flaws, but the abundance of vintage film clips, including the film's lone mockery of Evans for his hammy performance in The Fiend Without a Face, makes it worthwhile. Postscript notes indicate Evans is, indeed, still in the Hollywood picture, but we never see the caricature he has become: flowing hair, deep tan and odd fashions. Dustin Hoffman reportedly modeled his role as a flamboyant, petulant producer in Wag the Dog on Evans, although that goes unmentioned. What we don't know, Evans figures, can't hurt him. B+