Synopsis
Filmmaker and longtime fan Stephen Kessler's portrait of the award-winning 1970s singer-songwriter-actor, who disappeared for much of the 1980s and '90s, but still performs today.
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Cast
- Paul WilliamsSelf
- Stephen KesslerSelf
- Warren BeattySelf (archive footage)
- Robert BlakeSelf (archive footage)
- Karen CarpenterSelf (archive footage)
- Richard CarpenterSelf (archive footage)
- Johnny CarsonSelf (archive footage)
- Dick ClarkSelf (archive footage)
- Angie DickinsonSelf (archive footage)
- Daryl DragonSelf (archive footage)
Recommendations
- 88
New York Post
Williams, who was elected president of ASCAP in 2009, speaks frankly and eloquently about his problems dealing with fame, and his recovery. And more important, he earns our thanks by resolutely refusing to let Kessler turn this into a clichéd documentary. - 80
The Hollywood Reporter
The film has a winning combination for all sorts of platforms as the story is highly intriguing and the music speaks, or rather sings, for itself. - 80
Variety
An engrossing and satisfying picture, one that can be enjoyed even by people who have never before heard of its subject. - 80
Time Out
The oft-hilarious push-and-pull between director and subject - Williams wryly notes that the film is turning into "the Steve and Paulie Show" - effectively hacks away at the celebrity-enthusiast divide. By the end of this perceptive dual portrait, both men are content to merely be human. - 80
The New York Times
Mr. Williams's quiet integrity trumps Mr. Kessler at every turn. Self-aware and articulate, with a modesty born from confidence, he persistently uses the film to extol - and demonstrate - the rewards of recovery. His conviction brings necessary moral weight to Paul Williams: Still Alive, which transcends caricature to emerge an impressive personal testament. - 70
Village Voice
Johnny Carson loved him, and Williams had the credits to back himself up: As with Jimmy Webb, you could probably sing many of his songs without knowing that he's the author. - 70
Boxoffice Magazine
Too bad the film's obscure star will be a hard sell to non-music geeks or anyone born after 1965, because this film's a blast. - 67
The A.V. Club
The footage in Paul Williams Still Alive - old and new - is highly entertaining, even moving. But it's as though Kessler recorded the DVD commentary track first, then made the movie.
