I always find it amazing when you come across someone who keeps EVERYTHING. Soleil did that. You hear voicemails, see diary entries and photos as well as videos of her whole life...but the videos are a trip to watch. Soleil does a good job narrating and piecing together all of her memories. The most heartbreaking was to see her read her diary entry of her rape. Her young self not realizing she was indeed raped and on top of that telling her rapist she wouldn't tell because she "knows" it was partially her fault. You could see as she reads it how she would have liked to shake some sense into her young self. The pain across her face as she reads her own words... I mean, we all mistakes in life and look back thinking, "WHAT was I thinking?!". Here's a woman who sadly gets to read exactly that. And you feel THAT pain with her. This is what the documentary is like as she visits and sees now the pain some of her friends were in and, like all of us in life, we wonder if we could have seen or sense their friends pain to help save them. You share this journey with Soleil. It's well done.

I didn't rate it higher because I kind of wish we could've seen or learned, in her own words, of where Soleil is now. She glosses over her pregnancy and birth of her kids. Suddenly I was thrusted into present time then it ended.

In the summer of 1990, I turned 16 years old. This documentary hit me hard with sad nostalgia. I was sad that certain things happened and sad that I can't go back to relive it. All of these young stars were having fun but also going through difficult life situations. One of the crushes of my youth was Jonathan Brandis when he was starring in SeaQuest. That part of the documentary hit me really hard. Most of us think that Hollywood stars are immune to pain because of the fame and money, but that's just not true. You get to see the human side in this documentary. There are no Hollywood masks outside of a film shoot. These were kids being kids before the age of social media and instant judgments from jealous haters. This footage is important. It was as if the universe wanted her to record these memories to share in a future documentary. I was very anxious while watching it because of the nostalgia of my youth, but it was worth every minute to get a glimpse into the lives and struggles of these young stars. If only the ones who left this world too soon were still with us today.

Wow. I didn't know quite what I was about to watch when I started this. What I knew was that it would be relevant if you were a kid in the 90's like I was. I had also heard that it's very heavy. What I didn't know is that precisely what it is is basically an honest dive into the video diary of late 80's/early 90's child star Soleil Moon Frye (Punky Brewster) and her slow burn out of child stardom and into...well, the harshness of reality.

The 90's were the last decade before the internet and social networking would change our life experience forever. There was a magic in the energy of society and in our human existence that will never be there again. If you were like me, and apparently Soleil was, we brought our video camcorders with us as often we could, and we recorded as much as we could. For about 2 decades, Soleil put all this footage away, and didn't touch it - but now she's decided to take it all out and bring us a story from her experiences.

Now, I'm gonna be honest, there's not one true focus with this documentary - it's not that simple, but it's one of the most from-the-heart, personal things I have seen put into the format of film in quite some time. The primary thing that I took from this personally is that even movie stars are no different than a lot of us when it comes to the experience of growing up - we're naive, we find our people, then we slowly drill our way into the abyss of conscious reality together without even realizing what's happening. Though this movie is only 82 minutes long, it brings you on the most touching, nostalgic, and eventually tragic rollercoaster so, so quickly, and effectively.

The tragic part is that when you're a star, you're generally enabled - you're able to stall out on letting reality catch up to you. Generally, drug use is tied to that. In this case, that all leads to deaths, and in Soleil's case, so many of her friends died it's actually insane. There's a lot to take in here - those who are still alive feel like they are so lucky to be, and a lot of them seem to have a very deep understanding for the suicidal.

I can't say much more, but I always thought Soleil Moon Frye was extremely likable - now I think she's an angel on Earth, and I'm very happy she's still alive. I feel some of her pain, and through watching this, I stop and think less about my own pain, and more about the pain of every single person on this planet.

Really, everyone should watch this - but even more so if you were a kid in the 90's or gave even the slightest interest in 90's pop culture. After writing this, I almost want to watch it again already. I feel like these people are my friends now. I had no idea that all these young 90's actors were homies who partied together full time. I mean, I used to lie to kids when I was little and tell them Brian Austin Green (90210) was my older brother, and he's one of the leads in this. I feel so connected somehow. It's emotional as hell and completely beautiful. Watch it.