Watching 24

On 24 Kiefer Sutherland plays the hard-nosed, no-nonsense Jack Bauer. But, in real life, Kiefer is very different.

A while ago I was able to watch Kiefer’s documentary about a band that was on his recording label. The band’s name is Rocco Deluca and the Burden. The documentary was filmed while the band went on tour in Europe, with Kiefer following them around doing whatever he could do to get them noticed.

While the film was actually made to get the band recognition, it ends up being mostly about Kiefer and how completely insane he really is. But, don’t get me wrong; he’s insane in a good way.

Kiefer goes all out all the time. His determination to get the band recognition is very endearing. He even ends up pimping himself out to do radio interviews about 24 and then he’s able to plug whatever show the band is doing that night.

One of the funniest parts of the movie is when Kiefer goes out on the streets to hand out fliers for the free concert they’re showing. Some people recognize him; some call him Jack Bauer, and others have no idea who he really is.

It seems that just about every time you see Kiefer on screen he’s holding a glass of some kind of alcohol, but the miraculous thing is that in the morning he never looks like he has a hangover. Although a running gag throughout the movie is that he can never find his cell phone, but he always has the charger, just no phone.

You also get to see some of the affects that alcohol has on Kiefer. The hilarious scene of him tackling the Christmas tree shows just what alcohol can do to you. There are times when he’s slurring his speech so much it’s hard to tell what he’s actually saying. Just to show how spontaneous he is, there’s a part in the movie where he goes in to get a full forearm tattoo of the phrase “I Trust You to Kill Me,� in Icelandic.

The reason why I’m writing this review is I think that any fan of Kiefer Sutherland needs to see this movie to see just how good of an actor he is. I say that because in this documentary Kiefer has absolutely no attributes or personality quirks that Jack Bauer has. He doesn’t even sound like Jack Bauer.

He’s crazy when he’s drunk, yet he’s very cordial to people that recognize him and what pictures or autographs. That really surprised me. Every time someone asked him about whom he was or if they could have a picture with him, he was more than willing to do it.

One of my favorite quotes from the movie was Kiefer saying, “I’m not really a food person. I don’t really like food,� as he’s holding a glass of liquor in his hand. Anyone that can get as drunk as he does, and doesn’t have a hangover in the morning deserves everyone’s respect.

But, truthfully Kiefer is one of the most interesting celebrities out there, and I gained a new respect for him as a person while watching this show. Even though he’s far from perfect, there’s just something about him that makes him so fascinating .