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  Synopsis:
My Kid Could Paint That is
the story of a family who (perhaps) takes the
above commonality and pushes it just a little
too far. Marla Olmstead is a 4 year old
who loves to paint. Her father was an
artist and therefore encourages little Marla and
gets her canvases and paint to work with.
A friend of the family asks if he can have a
couple of Marla's paintings to put up in his new
coffee shop he is opening. Marla's
parents, Mark & Laura, oblige happily, eager to
put their daughter's "work" up anywhere.
The Freak's
Rating: B : The
cutest children in the world are in my life (my
friends and family members). They are
smarter than all other babies and can do the
most amazing things. Doesn't everyone feel
that way on some level about their own kids?
Perhaps some are logical enough to realize that
their child is still human, but most of us think
that our kids are little undiscovered geniuses
in one way or another. If I had a dollar
for every time a parent has told me about how
something their kid did or said was amazing, I'd
be a very rich man. Now lets be clear, I
realize that I will do the same thing when I
have kids. I just have to giggle a little
when I hear the latest rant about a child's
profound intelligence or artistic gift.
Before long, the friend of
the family is calling the Olmsteads asking for
pricing for the work. Abstract art lovers
are asking for pricing. The Olmsteads
really have no grasp on how to handle the
situation and are quickly approached by a local
art dealer, who firmly takes hold of their
situation, scheduling a gallery showing
immediately. The media monster smells
Marla, sniffs her out and begins to exploit her
and her family in every way possible. From
Oprah to a full page ad in The New York Times,
Marla is thrust into the spotlight.
Everything
is fine and dandy, until 60 minutes signs up for
a piece on Marla. They setup a camera to
watch Marla paint an entire piece from start to
finish. Surprisingly, the piece isn't near
as nice as her others and is noticeably lacking
the artistic flair. The piece she paints
is then analyzed by a psychologist and
skepticism is thrown onto her work, targeting
her father as the primary culprit. Experts
begin to analyze her as a fraud forged by her
father, the failed artist. The family is
accused of exploiting art dealers and
appreciators by taking advantage of their
daughter.
Abstract art and whether or
not it is legitimate will always be debated in
the art community. In my opinion, if art
makes you feel it is effective, bottom line.
Whether or not everyone gets it is irrelevant. My Kid Could Paint that is a
fascinating look at this situation, completely
telling Marla's story and never taking a side.
You feel the joy and bewilderment of the family
as her parents watch her become a sensation and
the heartache when they are called scan artists.
I would love to watch a sequel to this, just to
see where Marla is today and what, if any, her
work looks like now. It is one of the best
documentaries I've seen so far this year.
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