Why ‘aka Charlie’ is a sorry attempt at Charlie Sheen taking responsibility for his violence against women

There’s no disputing that Charlie Sheen is a world-class entertainer, and his Netflix documentary entitled aka Charlie Sheen certainly delivers on that front, but the man himself does not take responsibility for the devastation he has caused in his life— most notably for his abuse of his ex-wives.

For a three-hour two-part documentary which marketed itself as being brutally honest, it still falls way short of the mark in the show produced by the 60-year-old himself.

Denise Richards and Brooke Mueller are among Sheen’s three ex-wives, both of whom he was accused of physically abusing. As for being accused of raping Corey Haim in 1986, Sheen just flat-out denies it.

That’s not even counting the ‘accidental shooting’ of his then-girlfriend Kelly Preston in the arm in 1990, which was briefly dealt with in the show but not directly addressed by Sheen.

Unveiling the Controversies: A Deep Dive into the Documentary’s Revelations and Missed Opportunities

When the Preston incident comes up around the 48-minute mark in part one, there is a brief news insert from January 1990 when it occurred. A reporter managed to get a few words from Preston at her home, saying it was an accident and that was it. Sheen himself did not mention what happened at all. Where’s the revelation in that, Charlie?

Richards also appears in the documentary and said: “What he put me through, I don’t know how I’m here to be honest.”

While that was quite a statement for the 54-year-old actress to make, that’s as close as the documentary got to dealing with what Sheen actually did to her.

“There are so many ingrained images of me. People don’t even think of me as a person, but as a concept or a specific moment in time,” said Sheen at one point.

In fact, a few minutes into part two, Richards is seen for the first time in her interview when she prefaces her appearance by saying: “I want to be honest, peel the layers because otherwise this movie is going to be a fluffy, glossed-over, sugar-coated piece of s**t.”

This is ironic, because the documentary is ultimately not far off that, despite all the ‘new revelations’ like the fact that he engaged in homosexual sexual acts while under the influence of his many drugs. He even uses a silly metaphor involving a menu and saying how he flipped it over to see what was on the other side.

Charlie Sheen’s Vague Acknowledgment of Temper and Alleged Abuse Linked to Pill Addiction

But on the subject of his temper and his alleged physical abuse, the closest Sheen gets to taking responsibility is when he talks about his pill addiction: “Sadly, the pills do create a lot of just irrational anger.”

Cut to another news clip, from 2006 detailing the restraining order Richards took out against Sheen. Responding to the news clip, Sheen said: “I had the snap aggression, because you’re not mad at the person, you’re mad at the fact that the second dose you had to take just to feel normal didn’t give you the bump you needed.”

“I made it a lot more difficult than it needed to be. And I own that,” he added while remaining as vague as possible.

And that was it, as the documentary moved on. No further details about what he did, or saying he was sorry for what he did to Richards.

Sheen’s third ex-wife, Mueller, sits down for a big interview shortly after that, as the viewer is told the pair got together right after Sheen was divorced from Richards in 2006.

The December 2009 incident soon comes up, where Sheen was accused of holding a knife to her throat and he was subsequently arrested for that.

“I had to recant my story,” Mueller said. “If I didn’t, then he could have gotten into a lot of trouble.” 

All Sheen says to this and other violent incidents involving his ex-wives is “We’re past it.”

“I don’t think it’s fair just to pick up these moments at Charlie’s lowest and define him as a human being based on those moments,” Mueller adds.

In the end, aka Charlie Sheen makes sure to mention these incidents, but when it had the chance to show real insight or for Sheen to be held accountable and not explain it away with his drug use, it is again frustrating for the viewer.

Ultimately, it’s an entertaining watch, but it’s far from objective and holding Sheen truly accountable for his actions. Had he tried to do that, that would have been true redemption and not just another well-constructed money spinner for one of the biggest stars of Hollywood from another time.

@Michael_Sherman

IOL Entertainment

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