As directorial debuts go, a documentary on a man that most people would never have heard of is definitely an interesting one for Mike Myers to take on. However, the former Austin Powers star has lined up a staggeringly A-list array of talking heads, focused on legitimately one of the most interesting men in show business, and in the process delivered one of the funniest films of the year.
Chronicling the life of Shep Gordon, the film is never less than absolutely enthralling, kicking off with the haphazard way that a young nobody got involved in the lives of Jimmi Hendrix and Janice Joplin, managing Pink Floyd and Alice Cooper pretty much by chance, and continuing on through the decades of music, film, TV and more with a mythical Midas touch, as everything he puts his mind to turns to gold. The conveyor belt of famous faces – Michael Douglas, Sylvester Stallone, Tom Arnold, Willie Nelson, Mike Myers himself – who sing Gordon’s praises is hugely impressive, as are some of the throwaway stories that he tells seemingly in passing, most of which involve an unbelievable set of circumstances and a hilarious pay-off.
Gordon is such a charismatic, endearing and naturally gifted story-teller that the scant 85 minute run-time doesn’t feel long enough, as there are some things that we wish he (and Myers) would delve further into, such as his long-term relationship with Sharon Stone, who is one of the noticeable interviewee omissions. Myers allows the natural hilarity of Gordon’s life to take centre stage, but when it gets to some of the inevitable sad moments he uses a less subtle hand, with cue-the-tears background music to inform us of the emotions we should be feeling.
There’s also the fact that despite all the alcohol, drug-taking and womanising, not one person has a negative thing to say about Gordon. That may be because he actually is that great a guy, but the saintly fashion in which he’s portrayed is at odds with some of his behaviour. These are just niggly points though, as Supermensch is massively entertaining, with more laugh-out-loud moments than most scripted comedies. Hugely recommended.