Thomas Kinkade is as beloved as he is reviled — his artwork appearing in one out of 20 American homes in the late ‘90s, and drawing the ire of art critics the world over (who loathed his style, but could not contest how beloved his artwork was). This new documentary plays like a true crime story — reeling us in with the magnitude of Kinkade’s success and exposing the dark secrets he battled with during that period of time, and how that manifested in what he created.
“While ART FOR EVERYBODY unveils plenty about Kinkade’s real life versus the fantasy he peddled, it’s even more revealing about the nature of art, and what it takes to be financially successful in the mass market.” —Alissa Wilkinson, NYT Critic’s Pick, New York Times “A fascinating documentary about a family discovering the depth and complexity of their patriarch while coming to terms with his flaws…. It doesn’t make the case for Kinkade as misunderstood or unappreciated: basically, what you saw was what you got. But it does make you feel for a man who devoted his considerable skills to art that let him hide from himself, and granted the people who bought his work the same privilege.” —Matt Zoller Seitz, rogerebert.com “Yousef’s illuminating doc appeals to all sides, from Kinkade’s haters to his most ardent defenders, revealing dimensions altogether absent from his enormously popular oeuvre.” —Peter Debruge, Variety
