HBO doc ‘Showbiz Kids’ shows the dark side of child stardom: Review

Showbiz Kids opens with a statistic: “Every year, over 20,000 child actors audition for roles in Hollywood. Ninety-five percent of them don’t book a single job.” The new HBO documentary decides to focus primarily on the five percent of young actors who do get roles (and big ones, too) by pasting together archival news footage, old movie clips, and interviews from people who grew up in the spotlight. 

These now-grown actors include Wil Wheaton (Stand by Me, Star Trek: The Next Generation), Henry Thomas (E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial), Mara Wilson (Mrs. Doubtfire, Matilda), Milla Jovovich (Return to the Blue Lagoon), and Jada Pinkett Smith (The Nutty Professor). Additionally, Cameron Boyce (Jessie, Descendants) and Diana Serra Cary (who performed as Baby Peggy in silent films) make posthumous appearances. 

While Showbiz Kids aspires to expose the dark side of child stardom, it struggles to go deep into any particular issue.

The former child stars establish that when they were young, they didn’t realize their lives were different. They share the difficulties of being controlled by pushy parents and figuring out whom they could trust in the entertainment business. They even touch on the various young stars in the industry who have indulged in sex, drugs, and self-destructive behaviors because of the overwhelming pressure put on them. While these struggles are worth a discussion, the documentary’s lack of focus gives them a generic feel.

One topic that deserved a much bigger spotlight is that of the sexual harassment young actors are subjected to. While the interviewees make passing comments about the over-sexualization of children in Hollywood early in the film, they quickly move on to other discussions. This left me wondering for the majority of Showbiz Kids whether they were ever going to take a serious look at the predatory behavior of esteemed adults in Hollywood. As I watched the minutes tick by, I grew doubtful. 

Showbiz Kids does eventually tackle the sexual harassment young actors face: Evan Rachel Wood (Thirteen) is shown asking for more protections for young stars in court while Todd Bridges (Diff’rent Strokes) shares how he was molested by a male publicist. But it’s surprising there isn’t a bigger emphasis on the topic, given the importance of sexual harassment awareness, and especially during the continuing Me Too era. The time the documentary spends exposing the horrors of sexual harassment is excellent — which is exactly why I wish this discussion went even further and was made a central theme of Showbiz Kids rather than a single talking point.

The documentary’s wide scope is likely reflective of the personal experiences of the documentary’s director, Alex Winter. Best known for playing Bill in the Bill & Ted series, Winter was an up-and-coming child actor himself in the late ’70s and early ’80s, taking on roles in the Broadway revivals of The King and I and Peter Pan. In 2018, he revealed that he had been sexually abused as a child star himself. This gives insight as to why he is committed to elevating the various voices of former child stars. That’s a good thing. 

But Winter could have given further exposure to the lack of protections child actors receive by also interviewing outside experts and adults from within the entertainment industry who had witnessed abuse firsthand. These noticeably missing perspectives could have affirmed the problematic treatment of children in entertainment by bringing even more evidence to the table. Perhaps they could have even presented solutions.

While Showbiz Kids misses this opportunity, one of its bigger successes is the way in which it tackles the emotional abuse young actors are subjected to in Hollywood. Some of the most compelling anecdotes surrounding this topic come from Wheaton. Once, he was bullied for being unable to keep his teeth clean while taking a bite of a brownie. Another time, critics including the famed Roger Ebert damaged his confidence by scorning his films as harshly as he would an adult’s. Accounts like these show how Hollywood has been known to treat its younger stars as commodities rather than kids. And though, once again, the documentary doesn’t round out these tales with outside insight, stories are where change starts.

What’s difficult about Showbiz Kids’ narrative is that while it shares real and important issues, it struggles to connect with its viewers. 

What’s difficult about Showbiz Kids’ narrative is that while it shares real and important issues, it struggles to connect with its viewers. Based on the earlier statistic, only around 1,000 kids book gigs in Hollywood each year. This means most adults won’t be able to personally relate to the distinctive child star experience. And while there is a place to discuss what it’s like to be a young person in the entertainment industry, it comes off as a little short-sighted when some of the actors in the documentary imply that a “normal” life would have been so much easier. In many ways, this is true. But it fails to recognize the privilege the former child stars had while growing up. Sure, they talk about the sacrifices people in their lives (like parents and siblings) made to help their dreams come true, and they acknowledge that being a child star has its rewards. Yet the obligatory way in which some of these realizations are presented creates a barrier that could make it difficult for some audiences to relate. 

Showbiz Kids might have been able to overcome this issue had it found a way to make its discussions more down-to-earth. Rather than separate the experiences of child stars from those of other children, the documentary might have benefited from making connections between young people in Hollywood and young people who grew up in more common settings. 

For example, many child stars of the ’80s and ’90s felt lonely, pretended to be happy, and were bullied by people who didn’t know them. Kids today are facing the same kind of issues, especially because they are growing up in an age of social media. If the documentary had paralleled situations like these, maybe audiences would more easily be able to empathize with its interviewees. Being more explicit about the connection between actor kids and “average” kids could have made the documentary more emotionally effective.

Showbiz Kids lulls at times due to the way it wades through its topics instead of diving deep into them. However, it does offer an important message and will hopefully encourage further conversations around the treatment of child stars. Their well-being is just as important as the well-being of non-famous children. And though Showbiz Kids might be tedious at times, its recognition of the mistreatment of young actors cannot go unnoticed.

Showbiz Kids premieres Tuesday, July 14 on HBO.