Chris Barsanti

James Rasin’s unfinished-feeling film on Warhol star Candy Darling falls into the category of documentaries that should have been many times more fascinating than they actually are. This is, after all, the story of a boy from a prototypically sterile Long Island suburb who grew up as James Slattery but later reinvented himself as a self-created movie star, using nothing more than a blonde wig, a high and breathy Marilyn Monroe voice, and incredible amounts of makeup. The persona created was that of the old-time film star, an aloof creature of the old studio system who just happened to be gracing the mortals with her presence for a short time before swanning off to her next shoot…

Beautiful Darling is playing now in (very) limited release. You can read the full review at filmcritic.com.