What is happiness? Is it having everything you’ve ever wanted? Or is it about being selfless towards society while leaving everything behind? Many philosophers devoted their lives trying to answer this question; some, however, embraced the literal meaning of happiness and pursued anything that gave it to them, be it luxury cars, drugs, or women. One such actor personified this kind of lifestyle, getting anything he wanted, just like Charlie,  the role he played in the hit sitcom Two and a Half Men.

Charlie, in both real life and in the TV show, is a successful rich man born and raised in the glamour of Los Angeles. Some would say he was born to be in Hollywood. Having the famous actor Martian Sheen as a father, making it as an actor was quite expected of him, whereas the life that would follow was a surprise even for someone living life in the celluloid. 

The Netflix documentary starts with Charlie coming clean and saying he would hold nothing back. For those who know of him from Two and a Half Men, may not be surprised to hear that he lived the life of the rockstar. The 60-year-old actor reminisced about his childhood; a childhood surrounded by the glitz and glamour of Hollywood meant that we, the viewers, would also get to learn about America in the 1960s and 70s. 

Childhood led to a famed career in acting as expected, with making short stories and following life with a camera being the norm in Charlie’s teenage years. Famed actors such as George Clooney, Nicolas Cage, and Sean Penn were all part of the circle as collectively they would go on to rule Hollywood in the 90s and 2000s. 

The rockstar life would unfold in the first episode when Charlie professed that  cocaine binges and partying were the norm in his early life and the habit seemed to never leave him behind. Constant rehabs and subsequent mishaps proved too tiring and eventually made his career a nightmare. 

Moreover, the universe, as Charlie put it, may have been excessively kind to him. Time and time again, a good script would be waiting for him after rehab and this could be a cause for not learning the lesson. 

Charlie’s infamous habits will make the viewer apathetic and one may not be so forgiving. However, Charlie’s honesty in expressing every nitty-gritty detail of his personal life is appreciable. Without fear, he revealed a few facts from his life that make the documentary worth a watch. 

Charlie now lives a happy life. His partying life led to him being diagnosed with HIV, but he seems to be healthy and going through life happily. Living with the diagnosis, he now hopes to spread more awareness about it and fight against the stigma. 

The documentary is not just a diary of an actor’s upbringing; rather, it is a show depicting American life in the 70s. The glamorous life of Hollywood is perfectly represented and the unbelievable rockstar life of stars we could dream about appeared to be livable. One could imagine himself living the fantasy and it could only be for that imagination that you should consider watching aka Charlie Sheen.