this is quite an interesting thing to see because you just can't miss given the fascinating subject. however, if you want to see a better-done and more insightful documentary on the same subject, see "what happened to kerouac?" instead. this film is less hard-hitting and tries to play up some of the sadder aspects of kerouac's life by doing a kind of wistful routine. peter coyote's narration is abysmal. his readings of kerouac's writing unfortunately take up a lot of the screen time here. what were they thinking? maybe they thought he had some credibility 'cause he was one of the original san francisco diggers. doesn't make sense. he render's kerouac's prose & poetry lifeless with a wimpy and sighing style. if you've ever heard kerouac read his own stuff, which you get plenty of in "what happened to kerouac", you'd never want to hear anyone else read it again. i give it a 6 out of 10 merely because, as always, the interviews with jack's contemporaries that were still left alive when this thing was hobbled together, are riveting and priceless.
Review of Kerouac, the Movie
