Review of Smash His Camera (2010) by Brad S — 10 Aug 2014

I had never heard of Ron Galella before this documentary. Apparently he's a guy who stalked Jacqueline Kennedy and took a lot of pictures of famous people. It's a documentary about an apparently infamous paparazzo. By Galella own admission he is a paparazzi superstar. There's no question the movie is fascinating.

Galella comes to some fame because of his dogged pursuit of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. His antics are comic and apparently somewhat legendary even by paparazzi standards. Eventually things come to a boiling point and Kennedy sues her stalker (it's hard to call it anything other than stalking).

There's an interesting point in the movie where Galella reflects on why he was so obsessed with Jacqueline Kennedy . Watching him process his own obsession makes for a classic movie moment - largely because he seems blissfully unaware of his obsession until he actually thinks about it and he certainly seems very unaware of the discomfort he has caused her. Why did he follow Jacqueline so incessantly? His answer; he was lonely. Of course he doesn't say it like this, he says he didn't have a girlfriend at the time and that he was infatuated with Kennedy. But really it boils down to loneliness. If the movie is to be believed Could it be that we obsess over celebrities not because we are morbidly curious but because we are lonely? And that in that loneliness we hope to be known by some celebrity who will never know our name? Do we want to be known by those who are beautiful and appealing?

Smash His Camera is certainly an entertaining documentary especially for those who are familiar with the history of Hollywood. Galella is a compelling character - I would even argue likeable (although not everyone will agree with this). Smash His Camera is worth a watch. But I'm a little more interested in the questions it provokes.