DVD Review: Talhotblond

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You can say whatever you want online.

Some of my friends were talking about this documentary, made back in 2009. I had never heard about it. I never heard the real story, I didn't know that it spawned an apparently awful Lifetime movie directed by Courteney Cox. But when they explained the premise, it was instantly interesting to me.

Luckily, it was on Netflix Instant. This doc is about a man named Thomas Montgomery who is currently serving a jail sentence for murdering his young co worker Brian Barrett. The reason for that murder? The 46 year old Thomas had been having a relationship with a teenager online, (her screen name: talhotblond) lying to her about being a teenager himself, and after he was outed as a fake, he turned jealous that she was now talking to the much more age appropriate Brian. It actually gets even weirder than that.

I found the story fascinating. I hate to refer to a documentary like an actual feature, but there's even a twist in there. The whole story is sad and infuriating. Though the subject was interesting, it's not the best made doc out there. It sort of feels like a TV special and suffers from a few mistakes that most of those have. The narrator is "Brian" and he's speaking in first person, which I find kind of insensitive. An unknown 3rd party shouldn't speak on behalf of the deceased. Speaking of 3rd parties, the other mistake is having a clinical psychologist providing opinions on the case. The insight was interesting, but he wasn't there. He didn't treat Montgomery or anyone involved. They could've kept him in the film, but used someone that was actually there for more emphasis. 

Regardless, this was an interesting film and I'm glad I watched it.

Recommended: Yes

Grade: B-

Memorable Quote: "She generalized it." - Tim Sheiler 


  

Comments

  1. AnonymousFebruary 3, 2015 at 7:54 AM

    Great, now I want to spend my day watching this.

    LOL, this sounds horrifying and fascinating and cheap, which isn't always a bad combination.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamFebruary 3, 2015 at 11:56 AM

      It's fucking insane. I can't believe this actually happened. You should watch it and let me know what you think!

      Delete
  2. UnknownFebruary 3, 2015 at 2:53 PM

    Oh dear, now you've piqued my morbid curiosity. :-P This is going right on my Netflix queue.

    ReplyDelete
  3. m.brownFebruary 8, 2015 at 3:31 PM

    Aw shit. This might be me next movie. Hell...I'd even like to watch it tonight.

    Damn you Grammy's/ Bruins vs. Canadiens. Damn you!

    Thanks for the heads up!

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousFebruary 20, 2015 at 10:11 AM

    I saw parts of this on Netflix, God these people needed to be put out of their vapid, self-absorbed misery. I love how (and that's to say, not at all) Tom Montgomery was basically let off the hook by the filmmaker. Ah, Talhotblonde and her feminine wiles, making this racist, ignorant, murderous stalker, y'know, not responsible for his actions AT ALL. His tears at the end ("There's not a day that goes by that I don't regret what- I've- done! *SNIFF*) were eye-rollingly fake. Bollocks he regrets it. M.F.-er should have gotten the chair. :/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamFebruary 20, 2015 at 4:00 PM

      They definitely painted him in a more positive light then I think most other film makers would. There were definitely some weird choices here.

      Delete

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