The general rule in documentarian Morgan Spurlock’s career thus far has been that the trailers are much better then the movies themselves. That’s because Spurlock is a great concept guy, but not a great filmmaker. When the movies are reduced to mere two-minute tag-lines–“I’m going to eat McDonalds for every meal for a month and see what happens to me;” “I’m going to make an expose about product placement funded entirely by product placement”–they seem highly entertaining. But thus far in Spurlock’s career, all his movies have been is clever concepts, providing very little actual insight on the topic at hand.
Spurlock’s latest, Mansome, a look at “manscaping” and its cultural significance today and throughout history, looks like it won’t be an exception to the rule. The trailer is great fun, raising a subject you wouldn’t expect out of a documentary and illustrating it with likable celebrities saying funny things. But could it really be enough to sustain an entire feature? I’m doubtful about the prospect. And one wonders whether this should even count as a documentary, because two of the producers (Arrested Development’s Jason Bateman and Will Arnett) are evidently primary interview subjects.
Mansome debuts tonight at the Tribeca Film Festival. We’ll keep you posted on a general release date.