Directed by: Mike Myers.
There
are a number of different kind of “typical” documentaries – there is the issue
driven docs like An Inconvenient Truth, or political ones like the work of
Michael Moore, there is the crime driven documentaries, that look at a single
crime, and the inspiration documentary – about people overcoming adversity.
Then there’s the documentary as biography – which mostly falls into two
categories – those who want to tear down their subject, and the ones that want
to glamorize them. Mike Myers’ debut film as a director, Supermensch: The
Legend of Shep Gordon, is definitely one of these. It recounts the life and
career as Shep Gordon, one of those people who pull the strings behind the
scenes in the entertainment business that most people have probably never heard
of. He was a music manager – helping to kick start the career of Alice Cooper,
and then branching out to everyone from Anne Murray to Teddy Pendergrass to
Luther Vandross and many others. He helped break the racist “chitlin” circuit,
which didn’t pay black artist for their work. He eventually branched out into
movies – representing actors and others. He helped to create the idea of the “celebrity
chef” helping Emeril Lagasse and others build their empires. During the 1970s,
he took a lot of drugs, and slept with a lot of women. He continued with the
women, but eventually slowed down on the drugs. He’s one of these guys who “knows”
everyone – and everyone seems to love him. He’s loyal – he’ll do anything for
his friends, and that’s pretty much everyone. Now that he’s getting older
however, he wonders if perhaps he didn’t make some mistakes – namely that he
never had a family of his own. He was so concerned with everyone else, he didn’t
do enough for himself.
Myers
clearly loves Gordon. The film is a glowing portrait of the man, who holds
court for much of the documentary, telling his glory days stories with the
skill of a natural storyteller. And they are great stories to be sure – mostly happy,
but some sad. Myers has interviews with many of Gordon’s clients and friends –
and none of them have a bad word to say about the man. They love him.
I
suspect that someone who wasn’t quite as emotionally invested – or as close to
Gordon – could probably make a better movie about the man. And it may well be
somewhat darker. As is often the case in these glowing portraits, there’s
always a line or two that sneaks into the movie that make me wonder what we’re
not being told. Such is the case in this film, when one of the children of a
former girlfriend’s daughter – who Gordon was once close with – and who, after
she died at a young age, helped to take care of for decades says of Gordon
after a health scare “I finally have a great relationship with this man…” –
which struck me as odd, since she had known Gordon for decades by this point,
and the movie paints their relationship as nothing but rosy. But what’s with
that “finally” in there?
Still, I understand that what Myers is trying to do is showing the audience the Shep Gordon that he knows and loves – and means so much to so many people. It’s a glowing portrait from beginning to end, tinged with a little bit of sadness, as Gordon recounts some (but not all) of his failed relationships that didn’t end in the family that he wanted them to. It’s an entertaining little documentary – fun for the most of its running time. It’s not a deep film, but it’s not reaching for depth. It’s a fine little documentary – nothing more, nothing less.
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