- There is a constant recollection of how child stardom traumatized the actors: Director Soleil interviews lifelong actor friends like Brian
Austin Green, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, David Arquette, and Stephen Dorff,
who all recount their difficult experiences with child stardom. The doc
truly seems to make a point that the entertainment business is no place
for a child, although Frye is quick to point out that no one forced her
to act and sees the experience as a happy one. That being said,
Gosselaar remembers a time when he was told to "act like an adult" while
on stage when he was just a preteen, while Brian Austin Green describes
releasing his first hip-hop album to wide heavy-handed criticism ("the
poor man's Vanilla Ice"). Each of the actors talk about becoming insecure and hypervigilant of the way they were perceived by others, which made them soon turn to hard-partying ways, some ending up depressed or suicidal. - The documentary recounts the stars' drug use: The film definitely makes a point of showing the tumultuous environment the actors grew up in, mentioning the use of mushrooms, marijuana, crack, and heroin. As actor Green recalls meeting Frye at a party with Johnny Depp and Bubbles, Michael Jackson's chimp, things quickly got much more serious in their teenage years, as the actors turned to alcohol and drugs to numb their issues. As David Arquette explains, "it got dark," describing the true insanity they experienced.
- Frye's tumultuous childhood made her turn to the camera: As Soleil explains it herself, the almost-excessive amount of footage she filmed as a teenager was "a way of controlling" her surroundings, and being an artist. As someone who spent her childhood being filmed and watched by others, turning the camera around gave her a sense of control and identity she needed.
Image Source: Everett Collection