Andy Orr – Google

This is the worst mess of a documentary that I’ve ever seen. It’s an absolute train wreck. How did this get picked up by HBO? The rank amateur documentarian drags this departed high school teacher, Jim, through the worst possible rumor, innuendo, charges of sexual assault, wife beating, vigilantism, pedophilia… to the point that they suggest the guy is a prolific serial killer. Ultimately, we find that Jim was never charged, or even investigated, for any of these things. Granted, dearly departed Jim doesn’t sound like the most well balanced guy but truthfully, some of the people - all ex wives and step kids - seem even further from having a firm grasp than the guy they depict. It’s truly bizarre. I was embarrassed for just about every person on the show. There’s even a “dream sequence” where a woman is traumatized… well, watch it for yourself. I’m still scratching my head. If it’s worth watching, it’s only because you’re waiting for a big reveal. Surely, Jim will have served a jail sentence or carelessly left a fatal clue that he was a serial murderer. Well, the reveal never comes. It’s established that high school teacher and lothario, Jim, has a violent temper, likes rough sex and wrestles, perhaps inappropriately , with teenage girls. It ends up sounding like a bunch of adolescents getting a final dig in on their dead stepfather. In this case, the old adage of never speaking badly about the dead seems applicable.

Trust me, after watching Val Kilmer portray Jim Morrison, Rami Malek as Freddy Mercury, Tarim Egerton as Elton John, etc., you won’t be able to get past Johnny Flynn as Bowie. Flynn is probably a fine actor. He was miscast in this role. I get that it’s an indie film but the bar is set too high in this genre to fall back on artistic license. I couldn’t get through the movie. Maybe I’ll try again at another time. At first blush, this was pretty bad.