The wild (and unsurprising) life of Charlie Sheen

Charlie Sheen's life, in his own words, is divided into three sections: "party," "party with problems," and "problems." And let's start with these words: it's unclear why director Andrew Renzi didn't use this theme to organize the documentary series Also Known as Charlie Sheen , now available on Netflix. Instead, the project is divided into two episodes, each about an hour and a half long, filled with familiar faces whose testimonies are interspersed with excessive film footage, countless excerpts from the Sheen family's home movies, and interviews given by the actor early in his career.

Sheen is, of course, the main speaker, speaking unfiltered, sitting in the corner of a diner sofa (the man likes it, why not?). Or at least, that's what he promises at the beginning. "I'm going to reveal things I swore I'd only reveal to a therapist."

After seven years of sobriety, the Hollywood star seems to have lived more lives than a cat, having come close to death a couple of times—and been declared dead by the press just as many times. He speaks with a clarity and discernment we may never have recognized in him before, but as time goes by, it also seems as if nothing he says is accidental, that he lacks any remorse, and perhaps also lacks a true understanding of the harm he may have caused to those around him. Although he mentions it several times, he also asserts that he has always escaped situations that should have led to real consequences. This isn't where he's asked for explanations, as much remains unseen, such as the allegedly accidental shooting of actress Kelly Preston, the actor's girlfriend at the time.

After the three tabs of the actor's life are dealt with (we'll get to that later), the director empties the diner where the actor is being interviewed and says to him: "Now let's talk about the things you've never spoken about publicly."

[the trailer for “Also Known As Charlie Sheen”:]

Okay, there are 20 minutes left of the documentary. What could possibly come of it? Nothing surprising, really. Corey Haim's rape accusation during the filming of Lucas is discussed. Charlie Sheen denies it. There's talk of the women who sued him for allegedly being exposed to HIV after the actor had already been diagnosed [he revealed this in a 2015 interview after years of being blackmailed by women with whom he was sexually involved]. Charlie Sheen denies it. The end. Or pre-the-end, let's say. A lengthy analogy about a restaurant menu follows, leaving us too long to decipher what the hell he's talking about. It has to be director Andrew Renzi who says the words: "This is the first time you've spoken publicly about having sex with men."

He doesn't seem to make a big deal about it; Sheen doesn't even say so directly, simply admitting that it's "liberating" to talk about it. Perhaps it was something the actor genuinely wanted to make public—either because he didn't want to hide it, or because he was afraid of being exposed, or because he was being blackmailed again—but is it really that surprising (or relevant?) to the viewer to realize that a man who tried everything in astronomical doses (ecstasy, cocaine, crack, alcohol) had sex with men? That's certainly the most harmless part of Charlie Sheen's life.