TV Junkie

[StevePulaski]

TV Junkie (2006)
Directed by: Michael Cain and Matt Radecki

Rick Kirkham.

Rating: ★★★

Counselors and addiction experts say the true sign that you're addicted to something is despite you being fully aware that it's hurting you and your loved ones both physically and mentally, you continue to do that very thing. Be it drinking, drugs, eating, or gambling, you know the potentially irreparable toll it's taking on every facet of your life yet you still seek the next high in whatever form it comes.

It's a good thing former TV reporter Rick Kirkham obsessively chronicled much of his addiction through home-movies and video documents. Had he not, there's a disturbingly real possibility he wouldn't be alive today. He wouldn't have hours of archives that serve as painful video postcards for how low he repeatedly sank. Moreover, the documentary TV Junkie certainly wouldn't have had the impact it does had it been a litany of talking heads describing Kirkham's descent into being a drug addict. Seeing all the sleepless benders, sober recollections, and domestic disputes happen in real-time paints a greater, if more disturbing picture of the true perils of addiction in a way you've likely never seen.

Premiering on HBO in 2006 and now available for free viewing on YouTube courtesy of Kirkham himself — thanks to a resurgence in popularity after appearing in the Netflix miniseries Tiger King — TV Junkie takes place over the course of the nineties. It's told entirely through personal video diaries Kirkham recorded with the aid of presumably several handheld cameras. Even prior to his addiction taking hold of him, he chronicled much of his adolescent and professional life following a rocky childhood and a fascination with television news. Kirkham logged over 3,000 hours of recordings, and him in conjunction with filmmakers Michael Cain and Matt Radecki somehow distilled that footage down to a coherent 90 minute account of his hardships.

We see a sliver of Kirkham's rocky childhood before seeing him as a globetrotting reporter for Inside Edition. One scene shows him in a Caesar's Palace bathtub listing off the various places he'll be traveling within the next few days, shooting content and interviews for the show. He has a beautiful wife named Tammie and soon enough, two boys, Ricky and Dusty. By all metrics, Kirkham is living the American Dream with a surplus of money, a plush home, and a family. His life seemed to spiral after shooting a big feature story on drug dealing in the United States, specifically crack cocaine. Early moments in the documentary show Kirkham smoking crack from a makeshift pipe and trying to recount the "euphoria" of it while seeking his next buzz. The accounts are candid and brutally honest. Kirkham frequently reiterates the rifts caused between his wife and kids due to his drug use, and it sounds so contradictory to his accompanying actions because it is. It's those instances where we see the true power this addiction has over him.

TV Junkie spares no expense in showing the ugly downfall of a once acclaimed reporter. Kirkham loses his Inside Edition gig and squanders another down the road, not even lasting a year as a news director/anchor. Probably the most harrowing moments are the domestic disputes between him and Tammie, which often end with bruises, screaming children, and police at the door. Relatively brief stints in rehab get Kirkham back on the straight-and-narrow for what only seems like a few episodic v-logs before he's back in his unkempt bedroom shirtless with glazed eyes and a pipe in his hand.

TV Junkie is a disturbing sit, but it's necessary viewing for folks liable to see themselves in Kirkham's attitude and situation. The level of self-sabotage at the hands of crippling dependency is never an easy watch, but it's the raw, authentic nature of the home-movies that make it all the more uncomfortable to witness. I won't reveal how it concludes, although it does feel like it's wrapped up a bit too cleanly given the sheer messiness of Kirkham's saga. It opts for title-cards in its epilogue as opposed to additional footage, which is a bit of a bummer, yet the true marvel is the extent of the video diaries, some of which you might find yourself replaying in your head following the credits.

NOTE: You can watch TV Junkie for free on YouTube, courtesy of Kirkham: www.youtube.com/watch?v=_L3eg0r9skg

Directed by: Michael Cain and Matt Radecki.