.TaraDBennett reviews HBO Max's disappointing 'What Happened, Brittany Murphy?' docuseries, which fails to honor the actress by amplifying toxic tabloid culture
Lauded as naturally effervescent and unquestionably talented, Murphy had a meteoric rise from a precocious local actress in New Jersey to an exceptionally busy kid actor in ’90s Los Angeles. But movie star status came with her delightful turn as Tai Frasier in 1995’sAlongside her personal history, the doc also recounts how Murphy was dogged by the industry and media voices as being “fat,” which prompted her to radically change her appearance and weight for the rest of her career.
As another story of predatory men who exploit the vulnerable, Hill and her producers do a very good job of relaying the nuance and context of Murphy’s whole life, laying the groundwork for how someone like Monjack could slip in and do their worst. But where the doc fails on an exceptional level is succumbing to the temptation of including the tasteless freak show elements that existed in fringes of her life, and have continued after her passing.
Adding insult to injury is the inclusion of toxic celebrity blogger Perez Hilton as a talking head, too. The doc makes a clear case of Hilton posting terribly cruel posts about Murphy throughout her career, implying she was a pill popper and crazy, just like he did with Brittany Spears at the time. Yet here he gets to sit down and talk about how wrong he was, all in service of his ongoing public image rehabilitation tour.
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