Exit Through The Gift Shop

The Flick: Exit Through The Gift Shop (Non-fiction)

The Peeps: Banksy, Thierry Guetta, Rhys Ifans (narrator) et al.

The Dealio: When Thierry Guetta, a shopkeeper and self-confessed photo-addict, becomes enthralled with the graffiti world in France, and then in the US and the UK, all sorts of mayhem results. Eventually, the self-proclaimed, but untested Guetta becomes something in the nature of an underground phenom himself. Suddenly, he is the director of a studio which mass-produces 'works of subversive art'. He has a sold-out show, which nets him tons of lettuce and notoriety. Where will he venture next?

The Grading Session: 3.79 pengies out of 5. Although fairly short, the film became repetitious. But you should definitely call it up, if you have a weekend with time on your hands and an excruciating need to be entertained and transported out of yourself. This is an intriguing and involving commentary on the world of underground art.

Notable Quotables: "So, the lesson for me was 'never try to help someone out with a quote.'"

Lessons Learned: Sometimes it is possible to simply stumble into success. Otherwise, it is probably worth your while to look into a thing before you leap. Or invest. What strikes you as innovative and unique, may just have been reproduced en masse in a storage loft. Does it make it any less art? No. But, with art, as with many other things, you should probably only invest in what you love.