Though he's been heckled by mean-spirited audiences at comedy clubs and lambasted by film critics, actor-comedian Jamie Kennedy makes it clear with his new documentary "Heckler" that doesn't want to take away a person's right to criticize.

After all, the audience member is paying for a product and has the right to voice their opinion if they don't like it, Kennedy explained in a recent @ The Movies interview. Just don't burn him for the sake of burning him.

"If you're spending $7.50 on a ticket, you have every right to say whether you liked it or not," Kennedy said. "If you're buying a product and it doesn't work for you, by all means, use that right. Just don't try to take me down as a person. I'm not a toaster. If G.E. puts out a toaster and somebody doesn't like it, do they say 'G.E. must f------ die?' Unfortunately I'm the toaster, and they just want me to f------ die. Just be informed before you criticize."

New on DVD Tuesday (Echo Bridge Home Entertainment), "Heckler" examines the psychology of comedy heckling and film criticism through the eyes of comedians, actors and filmmakers, as well as the hecklers and critics themselves.

Making the film provided an emotional release for the 38-year-old Kennedy because throughout the duration of the documentary, he confronts some of the harshest people who have savaged his stand-up gigs, and acting in the comedies "Malibu's Most Wanted" and "Son of the Mask." The ultimate objective is to let go of all the baggage that he's been carrying with him in the form of bad reviews and spiteful words hurled from the audience.

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"It was totally therapeutic," said Kennedy, whose other credits include the "Scream" movies and skit/hidden-camera comedy "The Jamie Kennedy Experiment." "I learned so much about what they were saying, why they were saying it and the point-of-view they were coming from. I put it all behind me. Now that the movie has come out, it doesn't affect me anymore."

"Heckler" gets the observations of heckling and criticism from such comedians as Lewis Black, Dave Attell, Howie Mandel and Louie Anderson, and actors and filmmakers including Carrie Fisher, Henry Winkler, George Lucas and Joel Schumacher.

Comedian and "Real Time" talk show host Bill Maher remarks in "Heckler" that despite what comedians say about how hecklers affect them, no one really has thick skin and that you have to be sensitive in order to perform. And Kennedy couldn't agree more.

"It's true, you have to be sensitive to observe and pick up things," Kennedy said. "You have to be a receptacle to what's going on in society. You have to be able to feel it in order to take it and twist it and go, 'Alright, let's put a spin on this.' That's sensitivity. You're tuned in more because a lot of people are not tuned in because their lives are painful and they don't want to deal with it. The downside of being sensitive is that you're also susceptible to things affecting you in a bad way."

Though Kennedy highlights several different methods of dealing with criticism in "Heckler," he can't cite a specific mantra that resonated with him the most. He said it's a combination of all words from his colleagues have ultimately helped him in the long run, along with an ode to "Late Late Show" host Craig Ferguson's observation: If you love what you do, "you're f----- bulletproof."

"Pretty much you have to boil it down to doing what you love and consider the source of the criticism," Kennedy said. "If you put your best forward out there and you believe it, that's all that really matters. You can't live your life by the ways other people think. There are going to be times that things are down, and then times when they are up. That's how it is. You just keep working. You have to learn that process and making this film was a big part of it."