I've never actually watched a documentary film at the cinema, but when I heard about Mike Myer's directorial debut in the form of Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon, I was intrigued. 1) Who on earth is Shep Gordon? and 2) What sort of storytelling takes 90 minutes? I attended the premiere at the BFI, and went along to the fancy champagne reception beforehand with the "legend" Mr Gordon himself. He seems like a friendly chap, and he is very tanned. 

But back to 1) Who on earth is Shep Gordon? Well, Wikipedia will tell you that he is an American talent manager. Quite frankly, his page does not do him justice in the slightest. After the first 5 minutes, I realised why 2) requires 90 minutes. To put it simply, Supermensch is Shep Gordon telling stories. "Storytelling!?" I hear you cry. And yes, stories telling how Shep invented the whole "celebrity chef" thing. And how he was behind the weird antics of Alice Cooper. And how the only reason he became a manager is because of a chance encounter with Jimi Hendrix  and Janis Joplin. Over the course of his impressive (and incredibly accidental) career, he managed Luther Vandross and even Pink Floyd. Oh, and he is buddies with The Dalai Lama. Basically, it soon becomes apparent that Shep can fit more than enough Hollywood anecdotes before the closing credits. 

Aided by interviews with stars like Michael Douglas, Sylvester Stallone and Anne Murray, the life and times of Shep Gordon are illustrated by compelling archive footage. Myers cleverly kinda-matches the footage with vaguely-corresponding narration. Of course, not all the right footage exists, but you become so entranced by the story itself that you overlook the re-enactments. The whole film is a weird combination, but it works. 

Shep's story is a personal one too, speaking honestly about his desire to have a family. You soon realise that the glamorous world of Hollywood is a lonely one, and even though this is a guy whose main job is to make headlines through the wackiest experimental methods, acknowledges that he does not actually like fame. Ooer. His laidback approach has a friendliness about it, in a world that can be notoriously cutthroat. 

I'll admit that I'm not used to watching films like this one...there is no action stand-off or character breakdown or massive plot twist to keep me on the edge of my seat. So yep, my attention dithered at times but that may just be me and my uh, lack of attention. And I was admittedly a bit out of my depth during the 70s music biz stuff. Moving on...

The film is well made, and will attract the die-hard fans of Hollywood legends and music buffs alike. It's not my usual film choice, but I'm glad I had the pleasure of sharing in the story. Questions 1) and 2) were quickly answered too.

Oh, and also, the film is very, very funny.