The Kid Stays In The Picture

With Paramount celebrating its 90th anniversary this year it seems rather fitting that the mind-staggering personal and professional ups and downs of former chief of production Robert Evans is being splashed over theater screens in the form of a self-narrated, blatantly lop-sided, cocky, nonchalant, fascinating and juicily entertaining documentary. In his trademark gravelly voice, Evans blends anecdotes, struggles in the studio trenches, an insider’s savvy, and glimpses of his womanizing and personal life into a sort of tabloid campfire story. Like all good campfire stories, the tales here are vivid and unencumbered by detractors as filmmakers Brett Morgen and Nanette Burstein complement Evans’ candid, expletive-peppered, wry prose with period pop music, film clips, archival behind-the-scenes footage, stills, home movies, and digitally enhanced collages as we are escorted into a meteoric and notorious crash-and-burn career that kept trade papers and gossip columns constantly buzzing during the creative and commercial convergence of the 1970s. “There are three sides,” says Evans, “to every story: my side, your side, and the truth. And no one is lying. Memories shared serve each different.” Here the “pretty face” actor and field marshal of such diverse hits as Love Story and The Godfather tells his side with a relaxed passion for All Things Hollywood.