Doing a documentary on Bill Cosby for anyone else other than W. Kamau Bell would be impossible. How do you be objective about a beloved icon who fell from grace so dramatically? Kamau figured out how. By praising Cosby's valid accomplishments and at the same time giving ample space to his victims, Kamau does the impossible and something no other filmmaker could have done - he manages to deify and demonize Cosby at the same time and he does both effectively.
But Kamau wants to love Cosby. That can be seen all the way through the film. Yet his heart is breaking, as our hearts are breaking, that Cosby was not who the world all thought he was.
In the end we are left with the great things Cosby accomplished: the classic comedy albums from the 60's, the Fat Albert show and the classic Cosby show from the 80's and early 90's. Can the art be separated from the artist? It's up to us.
But Kamau wants to love Cosby. That can be seen all the way through the film. Yet his heart is breaking, as our hearts are breaking, that Cosby was not who the world all thought he was.
In the end we are left with the great things Cosby accomplished: the classic comedy albums from the 60's, the Fat Albert show and the classic Cosby show from the 80's and early 90's. Can the art be separated from the artist? It's up to us.