This is a vaguely sad documentary about a high-powered Hollywood agent, Shep Gordon and it mostly is about why so many celebrities love him. Despite living a crazy lifestyle when he was younger and making a few morally questionable choices, the thrust of all this is that he IS a stand-up guy (a 'mensch') who does the right thing and lives by a higher moral code. Most of all, his clients and associates really like him and see him as a tremendously decent man. It's also a bit sad as although Gordon has an admirable life in many ways, he is wistful about now having a family of his own.
The bottom line is that this is a decent time-passer though I am not sure how much folks who AREN'T in show business will enjoy this. It's well made but the subject matter is only moderately interesting--mostly because his life and friends are so foreign to most viewers.
Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon
2013
Action / Biography / Documentary / Music
Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon
2013
Action / Biography / Documentary / Music
Synopsis
In his directorial debut, Mike Myers documents the astounding career of Hollywood insider, the loveable Shep Gordon, who fell into music management by chance after moving to LA straight out of college, and befriending Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison and Jimi Hendrix. Shep managed rock stars such as Pink Floyd, Luther Vandross, Teddy Pendergrass and Alice Cooper, and later went on to manage chefs such as Emeril Lagasse, ushering in the era of celebrity chefs on television. Stuffed with fantastic archive footage the film traces Shep's transformation from the 1970's hedonist to today's practicing Buddhist yearning for a family of his own.
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October 13, 2014 at 11:41 AM
Movie Reviews
Mildly entertaining.
Outstanding documentary
Outstanding documentary.
The story of Shep Gordon, a man who, while a brilliant agent in the entertainment industry, is relatively unknown to most people, despite exerting incredible influence in the music and movie industries. Moreover, his personality goes against the image we have of agents, in that he is not just about the money but shows genuine compassion and friendship.
The amount of stars in his sphere of influence, and as friends, is amazing.
Incredibly well made by Mike Myers, in his directorial debut. He painstaking compiled stills and footage of Gordon for the movie. Some scenes are dramatized but these are generally very humorously done, giving the movie an (appropriate) light-hearted tone.
Not just a story of a man, pretty much a "how to" manual on publicity. He was a genius at marketing.
Surely one of the best documentaries ever made.
Who is Shep Gordon?
The life and career of the legendary Hollywood insider, Shep Gordon.
I had never heard of Shep Gordon before this documentary showed up on Netflix. Now I know he was instrumental in the rise of Alice Cooper and his legend, he helped create the "celebrity chef" and he was involved in the Cameron Crowe plane crash story fictionalized in "Almost Famous".
We learn about the Hollywood Vampires, and the unlikely drinking duo of John Lennon and Alice Cooper. I say unlikely not just because how different they are musically, but the political aspects could have been mind-blowing (though Cooper insists he was apolitical at the time).
We learn of the Anne Murray and Alice Cooper connection, which is even stranger than Lennon. Heck, in many ways this is far more a story of Alice Cooper than it is of Shep Gordon. If a Cooper documentary does not exist yet, expect one to come around soon thanks to his role in this.
Is the story too positive? That seems to be the biggest complaint, that the film comes off as more of a Mike Myers love letter than a true documentary. Surely someone at some point must have had something negative to say? Maybe, maybe not. At the very least, Myers should be applauded just for getting this out there and letting the world know Gordon exists. Clearly Hollywood knows, but does anyone else?