Could this bizzarre experiment have worked with a better filmmaker?

So ultimately this film ended up being insufferably boring and a bit embarrassing, with one or two laughs and amusing moments.

It was a novel idea, one which potentially could've setup some interesting satire, and had an incredible talent attached who was ready willing and able to go deeply undercover for the part. So where did this film go wrong? Why did it end up being such a turd? The fault has to lie with novice filmmaker Casey Affleck. Though the film generated a lot of buzz during it's 2 year film-making process, any director with half his senses would be able to tell halfway through that they were producing nothing worth watching. 90% of the footage they were creating was amateurish nothingness; no drama, no intrigue, no humor. The only worthwhile moments (other than the letterman interview, which was the highlight of the film, despite being material already viewed by the public two years prior) were the brief funny lines from the celebrity guests playing themselves. Any reasonable filmmaker should have been able to assess the situation and realize that they weren't producing anything interesting, dramatic, or profound; and should have hired a talented comedic writer/actor to come on board as a partner. That could have possibly salvaged this sinking ship.

Also Affleck really screwed the pooch when he decided to reveal that it was all a hoax/fiction at the premier of the movie. All the intrigue that the audience had about this project was about the mystery of whether or not this was real. As soon as he revealed it was a hoax it removed all interest. I hope Casey Affleck's manager smacked him hard in the face for that. One of the dumbest publicity moves he could have possibly made.

Ultimately I blame Affleck, not Joaquin Phoenix for this mess. Phoenix took a brave risk, all be it a horribly miscalculated risk. It's a shame that he couldn't have taken this risk under the hands of a more capable filmmaker. This film is ultimately a bizarre and somewhat embarrassing footnote in hollywood in history. A colossal waste of time for everyone, especially those who were foolish enough to allow their curiosity to bring them to watch this *beep* movie. The real sin here is that this film took one of our greatest actors out of commission for two years. In that time Phoenix could have done 5 real movies and graced us with some brilliant work. Oh well.