“You’re gonna shit a brick when you see this,” a girl with a camera says to Miley Cyrus, who has just taken a large hit, from a bong, of the legal hallucinogenic salvia. The “this” here refers to the video we see before us — obtained and posted today by TMZ — of the pop star in a drug-induced state at her L.A. home.
It is the best film released in 2010, as it captures our moment in time better than any other piece of cinema.
Let’s run down the justifications. It’s self-aware — “I’m just gonna document the shit out of this right now,” the videographer says early on. It’s a product of the times — its existence is endemic to the iPhone camcorder culture that enables such voyeurism. It’s the ultimate wish-fulfillment of those railing against Disneyfied commodification — the Mouse House’s most visible success story dipping her head into drug paraphernalia, sucking in, and inhaling smoke, days after she turned 18. And it’s a lovable example of absurd art — at one point, Miley’s speech dissolves into gibberish.It’s got a wonderful left-field soundtrack — Bush’s forgotten gem “Come Down” is playing inexplicably in the background.
To top it off, teenagers, presumably high, are eating dry Frosted Flakes out of the box.
“Fuck yeah, girl,” the director offers as her closing remarks. “Get it. You need to do more. You’re not, like, as fucked up as you should be.”
That dialog comes at the end of a video that has taken the internet by storm, partly because of the subversive thrill of witnessing one of the world’s best-known celebrities, who happens to be newly 18, do something as scandalous as take a hit from a bong, regardless of the legality of the indulged substance. But perhaps the video itself, stripped of the context of pop stardom, is drawing the attention of pundits. It really is something to behold — tragic, hilarious, relevant, real.
With ten spots open for this year’s Best Picture Oscar, we’d be shocked if this didn’t get a nomination.
nfreeman [at] observer.com | @nfreeman1234
Earlier: Those Naughty, Naughty Disney Stars! [SLIDESHOW]
