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Surprisingly interesting documentary highlights the highs and pitfalls of a four-year old painter’s fame.

Three years ago, the art world was set on its ear by 4-year old Marla Olmstead. Somehow, this tot could produce modern art paintings in the splatter-technique similar to that of Jackson Pollock. After a story in her hometown paper is picked up by the media nationwide, the shy little girl is thrust into the spotlight. Her paintings are selling for record numbers – and it doesn’t take long for one new organization to question whether Marla does the work herself, or with a little help from her amateur artist father.

In this 83-minute documentary, director and producer Amir Bar-Lev follows the family as they embrace the spotlight, except for Marla’s smart mom, who somehow senses the bad that can come of the situation. Bar-Lev started this documentary as a tribute to modern art, and the fact that a child could produce works that set critics buzzing. But after taping Marla himself, and watching the slanderous CBS 60 Minutes investigation, Bar-Lev tells viewers that he’s beginning to doubt Marla’s abilities. He expresses his distress at having to take his doubts to the family – who have been incredibly nice so far. They are people he really wants to believe in and it is a struggle to have to realize his documentary has changed, because his views have evolved the more he is around Marla. The family had hoped this documentary would clear their name after the nasty news piece. Unfortunately for them, Marla is a shy child around other people and somehow knows when the camera is on her, so no one except her family can seem to get video of her painting her “masterpieces.”

I thought more than an hour would be way too much for this topic, but Bar-Lev makes it surprisingly interesting. With the exception of telling viewers about his doubts later in the video, he allows the interviews to tell the tale, rather than telling it for the people. Through his interviews, I got the feeling that Marla’s mother was the one with common sense, while her father was a little too …nervous. I could easily see him and one of the gallery owners in cahoots to touch up Marla’s paintings and creating an incredible marketing plan to bring attention to art that would normally blend in with the rest of the artists trying to break in to modern art. Perhaps he just did not come across well on camera, but those shifty eyes really got me a few times.

I don’t think the child is a prodigy. She’s just a kid who likes to get her hands oily on a canvas. I can also see this shy child being smart enough to not be herself in front of strangers and their cameras. I’ve seen many children change in personality around people other than their parents, so it is entirely possible that little Marla does not come across as her true self.

The most interesting fact of this video? After all the negative publicity, the struggle, the doubts from friends and snarky e-mails from those who believe they are exploiting their child, little Marla is still the center of gallery openings across the country. I could not help but wonder if the family did not bother to take the earlier lessons to heart. Of course, at $25,000 per painting, I guess I can see why they’d stay in the game.

Special features in My Kid Could Paint That include audio commentary from the director and a detailed interview with Michael Kimmelman about art – what makes it and why people embrace it. I would definitely recommend viewers watch the Back to Binghamton featurette, which is an interview with the director three years after filming began. It brings viewers up to speed on what’s happened, and director Bar-Lev shares his insights and emotional upheaval after the 60 Minutes piece aired.

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