Luna Park Productions

AARP members can watch "Do I Need This?" through March 6, 2023. Video run time is 1 hour, 3 minutes.

‘Do I Need This?’ Documentary Examines American Excess

Film dives into the complicated relationship we have with our stuff

AARP Members Only Access, January 6, 2023

Americans own a lot of stuff. We live in a society and a time in history where inexpensive (and even free) goods are so plentiful that almost every American across the economic spectrum is touched by an overabundance in one form or another.

Do I Need This? is a documentary film about American excess, and the stuff from which happiness is truly made. The journey of discovery is led by filmmaker Kate Schermerhorn’s oversized attachment to her aging parents' possessions.

This timely, humorous and moving documentary delicately interweaves the filmmaker’s complicated relationship to her family possessions, together with a journey into the homes and minds of her fellow Americans. On the surface, it is a joyride through American excessive-consumption habits; at its core, it is a deep and genuine reflection on aging, family and happiness.

Director: Kate Schermerhorn

Producer: Kate Schermerhorn

Language: English

Run time: 1 hour, 3 minutes

Release date: 2022

MPAA rating: NR, documentary

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‘Do I Need This?’ Documentary Examines American Excess

Film dives into the complicated relationship we have with our stuff

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