Greetings from Sunny New York City. I’m in The Big Apple covering the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival.
For this dispatch I’ma just focus on the docs offered at the Film Festival because I’m seeing a fascinating documentary trend.
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This is difficult to articulate but The Last Dance was a pop culture tectonic shift. Released as we collectively entered into the first of many absurd lockdowns it severed not just as a distraction but as soothing balm for unsettled Marge Simpson like nerves.
The documentary aired on ESPN from April 19 to May 17, 2020 or the following day on Netflix for international markets like us Canadians. Because of the societal window the timing of this Michael Jordan docuseries became a cultural event. We’re only getting more fractured and more niche in our pop culture consumptions.
The M*A*S*H finale drew 106 million viewers when it aired in February 28, 1983. I know; people had limited entertainment options in 1983. Christine and Pet Sematary were not even published yet when M*A*S*H went off the air. Sting II was in cinemas. That ain’t #PantsWorthy.
And full circle here we were in April 2020 finding ourselves with limited entertainment options. Cinemas, NBA games, concerts…comic book conventions, SXSW…they were all shut down. Libraries and bookstores closed.
Yes thankfully we had the internet but for the most part we’d returned to those 1983 limited entertainment option days.
And in the midst of that loss and lack of direction came this scintillating documentary about a basketball team set in the late 90s.
Even people who don’t watch basketball enjoyed this documentary. It was long too; 10 episodes just under 10 hours. And yet it was compelling Must See TV. One of the Netflix categories it was listed under was: Feel-Good.
And that’s the shift I am trying to articulate.
Feel-Good has never been associated with documentaries before. We put on certain music or watch classic Simpsons episodes; sometimes even return to certain books…there are many notable mediums in pop culture we instantly associate with Feel-Good. And with The Last Dance we finally added documentaries to Feel-Good.
Feel-Good is a powerful emotion. For all the pop culture we consume most of it is not Feel-Good. That’s a special rare emotion.
Recognizing that shift I present to you a number of upcoming Feel-Good documentaries screening at Tribeca Film Festival 2023. Just like The Last Dance; these’ll eventually find its way to TV via a streamer.
We’re living in a beautiful era.
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If you’re not in NYC, a substantial amount of films will be available through Tribeca at Home. See if you can access that. Let’s start with a fun one everyone can watch…Arnold Schwarzenegger got a Last Dance.
🎥 SAMMY SUGGESTION: ARNOLD
Director: Lesley Chilcott
Screening: Streaming On Netflix on June 7
Why #CouchWorthy? In May we got Last Dance style docs on Michael J. Fox, Donna Summer and Mary Tyler Moore. June kicks off with this three-part docuseries about Arnold Schwarzenegger. I’m “pumped” for this. It follows young Arnold leaving the countryside of Austria to become a successful Terminator and eventually governor of California.
Arnold is a professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman and politician. It’s one of the reasons why he has universal appeal: he’s something to everyone. (The Rock follows the same template though his movies are way less successful and often don’t move culture.)
If you somehow need more enticement to check this out it’s directed by Lesley Chilcott (An Inconvenient Truth) and executive produced by Allen Hughes (The Defiant Ones). This is amazing: I’ll be “sticking around” for all 3 parts.
#SetTheVCR: This is a binge release…all 3 parts drop on Wednesday.
🎥 SAMMY SUGGESTION: MILLI VANILLI
Director: Luke Korem
Tribeca Screenings: Sat June 10 – 8:30pm, Sun June 11 – 3:15pm & Thu June 15 – 9:15pm
Why #PantsWorthy? Man; we’ve lived through Y2K, Satanic and Moral Panics (no child has ever…ever died from Halloween candy) and…Milli Vanilli. Trust is a fragile commodity and after all of those experiences I’m super stingy when it comes to trust.
This is the story of how 2 Germans became one of the biggest pop acts in the late 80s…only by the time they won the best new artist Grammy in 1990 they were a ticking time bomb. And it all went off when it was revealed they didn’t sing a single note. It was mess so hot they couldn’t just Blame It on the Rain.
Milli Vanilli is a the ideal metaphor as we look back at the back 90s trying to sort out what’s real and what’s not. How little actions have big consequences. The 90s were the growth of the internet, the fall of the Soviet Union, the O.J. Simpson verdict…the last humble decade where most of our society still had the analog skills to survive on the streets while engaging Nintendo Game Boys and raising Tamagotchis as digital pets.
Oh so making a tea for this one.
#SetTheVCR: Paramount+ has already picked up this doc; expect a Fall 2023 streaming date.
🎥 SAMMY SUGGESTION: STAN LEE
Director: David Gelb
Tribeca Screenings: Sat June 10 – 5:00pm, Sun June 11 – 3:00pm & Sun June 18 – 2:30pm
Why #PantsWorthy? One of the saddest aspects of Stan Lee’s passing in November 2018 is the dearth of his fun MCU cameos. So since we haven’t seen Stan “The Man” Lee on film for the past couple of years; this doc will hafta do.
The challenge for this documentary is…can it rise above a dry Wikipedia entry and offer insight or unique perspectives on this powerful pop culture architect?
There is the doc classic hook: until now…Lee left behind a trove of personal footage and recorded recollections of his career that were never seen by the public. Cue…until now.
Comic book conventions are stressful situations. You meet this Star Trek actor, this comic book creator and you want to distill everything in your heart with words that fall short. Because most words don’t convey how you relate to that character or how the story moved you…there’s so much to say and not enough time or clarity to say it. It’s stressful…like writing your own wedding vows stressful.
I appreciate we’ve had since 2018 to mourn and adjust to Stan Lee’s absence and now we can properly memorialize him. And to say thank you. Sometimes thank you is enough.
#SetTheVCR: Disney+ will air Stan Lee on June 16.
🎥 SAMMY SUGGESTION: RATHER
Director: Frank Marshall
Tribeca Screenings: Fri June 09 – 5:00pm, Sat June 10 – 3:15pm & Sun June 18 – 2:15pm
Why #PantsWorthy? Did you see The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart a 2020 doc? That was directed by Frank Marshall; excellent doc. (You’ve for sure seen Bourne movies, The Sixth Sense, Indiana Jones movies…oh: Poltergeist. Lots more all produced by Frank Marshall. Clearly Frank is our friend…that’s a lot of appreciated adventure.)
So I dig the opening line in the description for this doc: “Frank Marshall’s incisive documentary is a long-overdue tribute to an icon of journalism…” Dan Rather. Like…yeah: this is a long-overdue tribute. Rather has earned a Last Dance.
Dan Rather is an old head who has stories. Most people haven’t grasped TV news is now teleprompter reading. It’s not journalism. Rather has been critical of that; it’s one of the reasons why he retired. He was in the field…he was in danger. In his scintillating Howard Stern interview from 2014 (see below) he shared how was he accosted by the KKK covering MLK’s funeral as well as other dangerous aspects of his job.
In his old age Rather has become reflective…he’s seen so much. Dude has covered Vietnam War, MLK’s assignation and JFK’s to the fall of the Berlin Wall and lots more. Dan Rather is Kevin Arnold. And this doc…this long-overdue tribute is his Wonder Years.
🎥 SAMMY SUGGESTION: ALL UP IN THE BIZ
Director: Sacha Jenkins
Tribeca Screenings: Sat June 17 – 8:00pm & Sun June 18 – 6:30pm
Why #PantsWorthy? As #HipHop50 celebrations roll on across New York City it’s fitting to have a moment of silence for Biz Markie. Biz passed away on July 16, 2021.
Like…look who is in this doc: Nick Cannon, Tracy Morgan, Big Daddy Kane, Fat Joe, Daryl McDaniels (DMC!), Doug E Fresh, Dapper Dan, Prince Paul, Rakim, Marley Marl and more!
And check out this line from the description…there’s one word…a key phrase that stands out; see it? “Director Sacha Jenkins weaves together a collage of dynamic celebrity interviews, rare archival footage, reenactments with puppets, and playful animation to share the personal and professional story of Biz Markie and the mark he left on hip-hop history and the music industry around the world.”
Yup! Reenactments with puppets. When was the last time you saw a documentary that featured reenactments with puppets? Or is the better question to ask why aren’t there more puppet laced docs? If you know Biz Markie you know reenactments with puppets is the best way to go.
Here’s Biz Markie rolling with the Beastie Boys…just fun:
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Sammy Younan is the affable host of My Summer Lair podcast: think NPR’s Fresh Air meets Kevin Smith: interviews & impressions on Pop Culture.
