If You Like Documentaries...#2

[I review the documentaries "Steve! (Martin): A Documentary in Two Pieces" as well as "Brats" - remember "The Brat Pack?" - and "Dancing for the Devil" - a three-part series about a dance cult]

 

Steve! (Martin): A Documentary in Two Pieces (2024)

An absolutely extraordinary documentary about Steve Martin.

I am saying that up front because I know people don't read much anymore, and you probably are not going to read this entire review, so I wanted to give you the bottom line from the get go. Whether you are a big Steve Martin fan or not, this is how biographical documentaries should be done.  It's an extraordinarily wonderful journey.  

Directed by Morgan Neville, there are two parts to the documentary - "Then" and "Now." 

In Part 1, "Then," Martin's voice-over documents his family life and early days as a performer.  Steve grew up in Orange County, California.  His family had moved there because his Dad wanted an acting career. Steve's father lacked affection and was a disapproving guy, so it makes sense a young kid would want to make his Dad laugh. At an early age, Steve discovered magic, and he got away from home by spending a lot of time at the very new Disneyland where he found work. It was there that he was influenced by Disneyland comedian, Wally Boag, whose act consisted of wearing bunny ears and doing magic tricks, obviously an early influence on Steve. Saying Steve's early stand-up comedy was "out there" is an understatement.  He had no shame, which was why he was funny, but it took awhile for people to get him, but eventually, Steve had career breakthroughs with his comedy and some successful segments on late night talk shows secured his popularity.

I was lucky enough to see Steve in San Francisco in the 70's, in the early part of his career when he was opening for "The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band." We were there to see the band, not the opening act, but there he was, Steve, in his white suit, arrow through the head, playing his banjo, making balloon animals and having "happy feet."  He was outrageously hysterical.  Nobody was doing what he was doing, and yes, he tried to lead the audience outside to go get fast food (one of this schticks)! Who knew what a career he would have? Well, I did. I have never forgotten that night (kind of forgot The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band). After that night, I knew he would have a big career. I am so glad I was there. 

And what a career it has been. "Excuuuuuuze me!" and "I'm just a wild and crazy guy" are now part of the comic lexicon, and I had forgotten just how many movies Steve has starred in.

Part 2 - "Now" - documents the older Steve and his career accomplishments with no voice over, but rather this part has an interview feel with Steve in real time telling about his life. We also learn things we might not have known about him, e.g. that he has been an avid art collector and cartoonist; he has been away from stand-up for 30 years; he and Martin Short are good friends in real life; and Steve suffered from anxiety as a young man. That's kind of a tough thing for a stand-up comic.  I can't imagine anything more anxiety producing than standing up on an empty stage all alone trying to make hundreds (or even thousands) of people laugh. 

But now in his 70's, Steve has found contentment as a happily married man with a young child and then, of course, there is "Only Murders in the Building." This second half of the documentary is a rare glimpse into the very private man.

Rosy the Reviewer says...you don't need to be a huge Steve Martin fan to enjoy this documentary because it's so well done, but if you are not a fan, you will be after seeing this. (Apple+)

 

Brats (2024)

Those growing up in the 80's were affected by the youth movies that "The Brat Pack" starred in, but how did being called "The Brat Pack" affect these young actors?  Here is the story.

Andrew McCarthy never really got over being called a "brat."  At the height of the teen movies of the 80's, an article appeared in "New York Magazine" called "Hollywood's Brat Pack," a play on words from Sinatra's "Rat Pack."  It was meant as a profile of Emilio Estevez but ended up being a not very flattering account of the young actors starring in such movies as "St. Elmo's Fire," "Pretty in Pink" and "The Breakfast Club."  They were all lumped together as untrained young actors and partiers, and they were not happy about it. That nickname stuck on some of them in a bad way. It implied that they were not serious actors. Was Martin Scorsese going to cast someone who was called a "brat?"

 

So who were the members of the "Brat Pack?" 

Though there were many young stars in movies aimed at teens, it is generally accepted that the Brat Packers were McCarthy, Estevez, Anthony Michael Hall, Rob Lowe, Demi Moore, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald and Ally Sheedy.  

So McCarthy, now 61, takes a look back on that time by writing the screenplay, contacting his fellow Brat Packers and directing this documentary. He interviews Estevez, Lowe, Sheedy, and Moore (Molly Ringwald turned him down and he kept trying to find Judd Nelson), all lumped together as "brats" to see how they were affected by the moniker all those years ago, and they all have different perspectives o what that did to them and their careers. "Brat Pack adjacent" stars - Timothy Hutton, John Cryer and Lea Thompson - are also interviewed along with writers Bret Easton Ellis and Malcolm Gladwell, the latter adding some perspective on how the "Brat Pack" affected pop culture.

 

Despite the fact that everyone in the 80's assumed these kids were friends in real life, few of them had seen each other in 30 years.  Some, like Demi Moore, went on to have really successful careers, others like Sheedy and even McCarthy, not so much. You can tell the article really affected McCarthy who was a moody young man back then and I think still takes himself really seriously now.

But McCarthy also tracks down David Blum, the author of that infamous article, and interviews him in a particularly interesting segment.  Blum explains himself a bit but is unrepentant, and even takes some credit for the success of some of the "Brat Pack" films.  However, I think, talking with Blum helped McCarthy put that whole period and his life into perspective.

The film also touches on the generational transition that was happening in the 80's in Hollywood with so many movies about teens, and the film breaks down why those movies were so significant. Before that, movies were about adults for adults, but the 80's was the Golden Age of youth movies, and though these "kids" didn't like being called "brats," especially McCarthy, he and they have worked it out and realized that "The Brat Pack" was and is a positive part of the movie lexicon.

Rosy the Reviewer says...an interesting, introspective flashback to the 80's about a pop culture phenomenon. If you were a teen in the 80's, you will love this. Oh, and McCarthy never did find Judd Nelson. (Hulu)

 

 

Dancing for the Devil: The 7M Tik Tok Cult (2024)

A documentary series about Robert Shinn and his Shekinah Church and cult allegations against him and his talent management company 7M Films.

Former clients of 7M Films and past members of the Shekinah Church shed light on young dancers lured into a religious cult supposedly masquerading as a talent management company. They allege that Robert Shinn, the founder of the church and the management company, abused his followers and financially exploited young dancers he represented, taking over 80% of their earnings. 

The series follows several young people who joined the church, some from the early days and some lured into it later with the promise of becoming a famous dancer via the management company. Some of the survivors of the cult are interviewed.  However, the primary focus is on Miranda Derrick, a TikTok dancer previously known as Miranda Wilking, who along with her sister, Melanie, gained millions of followers making cute sister dance videos before Miranda joined the Shekinah Church and was recruited by 7M.  Her parents and sister allege that she and other dancers have been isolated and controlled by Shinn. Also two Korean sisters, Melanie and Priscylla Lee, who Shinn preyed, upon are highlighted. 

If you are a fan of "So You Think You Can Dance" or "World of Dance," you might have seen some of the dancers in this series.  It is not uncommon for young people to be lured into cults with the promise of fame and fortune. In this case, Shinn's daughter, Kloe, was a singer/songwriter who was also involved with dance videos and filmed dancers performing in videos (the documentary features some great dance segments). From that, Shinn got the idea to form a management company and manage the dancers while at the same time luring them with his religious message.  When young people are "at sea," a regimented religious group can be inviting.  You will not just be saved religiously, but in life as well. It can be comforting to have someone tell you what to do and that is what Shinn did. And of course they were promised fame.

One of Shinn's tenets was "dying to yourself," which meant giving up loved ones to save them.  Then everyone would go to heaven together.  So that's what Miranda supposedly did but her family wasn't having it and much of the series focuses on their attempts to contact her and get her out of the cult, though Miranda has come out to say she is not in a cult. 

I have always been fascinated with cults, wondering, how does this happen?  How are handsome, beautiful, talented young people manipulated and willing to give up everything to follow one person, especially when they endure abuse and isolation?   

Naturally, 7M Films has denied the allegations raised in the documentary and Derrick herself released a statement on the documentary in an Instagram story, characterizing the allegations as part of a family dispute. Shinn and other members of 7M declined to be interviewed for the documentary.

Rosy the Reviewer says...directed by Derek Doneen, the series shines a light on the dark side of social media fame and ends with a sobering fact.  It is not easy to bring a cult down because it is not against the law to run a cult. The Shekinah Church is still operating today. Fascinating and scary stuff. (Netflix)

Thanks for reading!

See you next time!

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