- Jim Killeen googled his own name and made a documentary about the men with whom he shares it.
- "It all started when I Googled my name" said Killeen of his movie. And who in today's day and age hasn't engaged in just such an activity in a moment of idle "webbing." The difference here that the filmmaker actually followed up on his findings by not only contacting his namesakes but also traveling to whatever remote location called for to meet and interview the subjects of his search, even discovering (and verifying through genetic testing) a long-lost cousin. Jim Killeen the filmmaker in Los Angeles found, among others, Jim Killeen the priest in Cobh, Ireland, Jim Killeen the retired cop in New York, Jim Killeen the CEO in Melbourne, Australia and Jim Killeen the sexual swinger in Denver. "Google Me" has not only been given the search engine's blessing, but even features Google's VP of Engineering, Douglas Merrill, in an insightful interview voicing his sentiments on the subject. Whether an effort to defeat the innumerable self-imposed social barriers erected since the advent of the Internet or out of sheer and simple curiosity, the result is nevertheless telling and enormously entertaining - as well as a provoking commentary on today's society and how technology has transformed our lives. Due to the premise of the film, Jim Killeen is likely to become a household name. By employing the single yet powerfully intimate common denominator of a person's name, "Google Me" succeeds in exploring the philosophical subject of identity itself as well as the underlying human conditions that unite us all.—RK
- This is a film about using Google to find other people with the name "Jim Killeen". It's not just about opening up a phonebook and going through all the "Jim Killeen's" in the world like some others have chosen to do... its more to do with the internet and the googlosophy. It's a different take on an idea that has fascinated us all at one point in our lives... even before Dave Gorman....
Sometime actor, professional gambler Jim Killeen has scripted his début feature on a late-night search on his own name. With two dozen hits as a starting point, it seems that contacting his namesakes, offering to travel to their neck of the woods with a crew in hand to do an interview, will provide more material than he could possibly need. But in the early going, he and producer Jeannie Roshar are surprised at the number of rejections: seems that many JKs are not at all interested in having their 15 minutes of fame (and a mandatory DNA test to establish if there is an actual long-lost relative in his top ten list). But before you can say Its like talking to myself, Father Jim Killeen, ministering to his Irish flock for twenty-one years agrees (Hes coming here, so Ive nothing to lose.) and the name game is afoot. Their time together is awash in beautiful shots of the church and the countryside and, as is the case in most of the segments, given a musical reinforcement (Geoff Levin, composer) that reinforces the setting. Yet the neophyte questioner lacks the killer instinct to knock down some closed doors in his on-camera chats (here, the global issue of sex abuse vanishes as quickly as its raised; later, just what did or did not happen at the swingers party remains a mystery). The cliché, What is mans purpose? seems too on the nose resulting in one embarrassed non answer and a series of stock replies that acknowledge the elephant (camera) in the room. The journey of Jims winds its way through New York City (a retired cop on scene at the infamous 1990 Happy Land blaze: more, please), Denver (home to a tranny chaser), St. Louis (this Jim has spawned eight kids, is a highly paid executive and worships at the altar of Bush), Melbourne (the Aussie CEO of a large social services agency loves his beer and football don't miss the hometown teams song set to a melody stolen from Carmen) and Scotland (where the Jim du jour could easily pass as a brother and the required haggis taste and kilt fitting slip more into travelogue than inner-discovery mode). Between trips, cash is raised at the casino and corporate Google comes aboard (don't mess with their name without asking) only to inspire the man-in-the-street Have you ever googled your name? fillers that add little to Killeens stated purpose: the goal is to connect.
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