"Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon" (2014 release; 85 min.) is a documentary (written, produced and directed by Mike 'Austin Powers' Myers) about the life and times of Shep Gordon, one of the legendary managers in the entertainment industry. As the movie opens, and after some general introductory comments from people like Michael Douglas, Sylvester Stallone, Alice Cooper and others, Gordon tells in his own words how it all got started, back in 1968 when he really wanted to become a probation officers, and even took and passed the California Probation Officer exam. But when it became clear he didn't fit in with the others at the CA juvenile facility he was assigned to, he dropped out and drove to LA where he checked into the Hollywood Landmark Hotel, and promptly befriended Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix. It was Hendrix who 'pushed' Gordon into managing ("You a Jewish boy?" "Yea" "You should become a manager." "Okay", ha!). Gordon's first important client was Alice Cooper, then still toiling into obscurity, but not for much longer. Gordon was 21 at the time, if you can believe it. To tell you more would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.Couple of comments: first and foremost, even if Shep Gordon may not be known to you at all, you are in for a finger lickin' good time with this documentary. The man was arguably one of the most connected people in the Hollywood entertainment scene, and apparently one of the most respected and beloved. Besides managing many stars in the music and movie business, Gordon practically single-handedly started the 'celebrity chef' scene when he befriends French chef Roger Verge and later agrees to manage him and many other chefs. Second, given the 40+ year relationship and bond between Gordon and Alice Cooper, we get to see quite a bit of the Cooper saga with fascinating insights on how Cooper was able to break through, with the ideas from Gordon playing a crucial role (and hence it's a nice compliment/contrast to the recent "Super Duper Alice Cooper" documentary). Third, the documentary does not shy away from the personal side: while we see Gordon having relationships with Sharon Stone and other well-known women, in the end we see Gordon alone. Says his assistant: when he wakes up after the surgery and sees me beside the bed, it's clear that he wishes it was not me, his paid personal assistant, whom he'd be staring at", wow.This is not a 'dirty laundry' type of documentary, so if you think you'll be hearing/seeing a lot of gossip on the artists managed by Gordon, you will be sorely disappointed. If on the other hand you are interested in getting a portrait on one of the most successful managers in the Hollywood entertainment business, then this is for you. I enjoyed this from start to finish. Quite a nice debut for first-time director Mike Myers. "Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon" is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Mike Myers is a man who has made me laugh probably more than anyone else, and often just when I needed it. As it turns out he's also an excellent filmmaker. He has great timing, a passion for archival research, and clever interviewing skills. While displaying these prodigious gifts, he has managed to make one of the most disappointing documentaries I've ever seen. Supermensch is laid out like a reverse court case. Instead of prosecutor trying to show that someone is nasty, this movie tries to convince viewers that the subject of the film, Mr. Gordon, is a good guy. We hear endless testimonials from some of Hollywood's most famous stars. Family members tear up trying to describe their love for Mr. Gordon. We see that he has achieved fabulous wealth. We are supposed to leave thinking that in all his life, Gordon has never unfairly hurt anyone. It defies belief.The documentarian went into this project as a promoter, rather than a reporter. So we never hear from the ex-wives, the angry ex-clients, the venue managers who had to negotiate with Gordon. We hear from Myers and Gordon that their first interaction was a pretty tough negotiation. It's hard to believe he has never been dickier. We hear that he was a womanizer and wore a T-shirt that said, "No head, no backstage pass." Maybe that was just a joke. Maybe not. We don't know. It would be nice to ask around...except that it might burst the bubble. Can't have that. Right at the beginning, he says he tells clients that if he does his job perfectly he will probably kill them. This is interesting! But we are never told why he says that. Does he feel responsible for the deaths of his early clients? Who knows, such complexity has no place in this film. The same goes for the film's minor characters. So Jimi Hendrix told him to be a manager because he is Jewish? WTF does being Jewish have to do with it? Who knows, this movie isn't here to expose stereotypes.Because the film is trying so hard, it made me start to wonder about the motives of those giving positive evaluations. Are they being honest? Or is there some other reason for their effusiveness? The family members in particular are a bit too much like Regan and Goneril for my taste.It's not like showing the darker side of the main character would make us like him less. To the contrary, in the same theatre, I recently saw another documentary about a real supermensch: The Grand Budapest Hotel. By showing characters fail, that movie succeeds at showing the heroes' true resiliency and grace. In the end, I felt like Myers was learning the documentary craft with this movie. I hope so. He has skills, and it would be a delight if he were to apply them to a topic where he was less of a partisan, and was instead genuinely curious about the full story. I can't imagine what was the archives and research budget for this movie. There are so many worthy documentaries waiting to be completed for lack of money, it is a bit sad to see so many resources poured into a movie that doesn't even seem to be pursuing the truth.Maybe someday.

This film is about entertainment manager Shep Gordon, who got his start by agreeing to manage (and, 43 years later, continues to manage) Alice Cooper. He also manages others, and this documentary goes through his life. You hear from people who you don't see commenting in films often, like Michael Douglas, Mike Myers (who also directed) Alice Cooper himself. It glosses over many things, there are no scandals, no moments of jaw dropping revelation, just the story of a man looking back at his career mostly with a smile. The most poignant part of the film are the parts involving the late Teddy Pendergrass, but there is also commentary from an ex's grandkids, whom Shep has all but adopted. Although now semi-retired and living in paradise in Maui, he still sees people all the time. Again, nothing scandalous, just a mostly straight forward telling of a man who mucked through the entertainment industry and still comes out of it well loved and admired. I recommend it to anyone who is interested in the subject, but it really is refreshing to watch a documentary about someone who hasn't been anything but a good person and who is held in high esteem by his friends and colleagues.

You know that famous line from, Almost Famous, "I am a golden god!"? That quote pretty much sums up the life and times of Shep Gordon, a would be prison guard turned drug dealer turned one of the most famous managers to some of the biggest musicians of their day. You know that scene from Almost Famous where the plane is going down, and the bandmates blurt out confessions? Shep Gordon was on that plane and so was Cameron Crowe, when he put that true outrageous moment into the movie. Shep Gordon's life is one very outrageous movie and now Mike Myers, in his directorial debut, turns it into a good time love letter and at times, moving documentary movie.More than outrageous, Shep is a legend in his excess of sex, drugs and rock and roll. Not one to miss an opportunity with the ladies, he would wear a t-shirt on tour that said, "No head, no backstage pass". But the magic of this film, something that Myers didn't craft on accident, is that the biggest legend of Shep's excess was the capacity of his heart. A kind and very generous man, Shep was every famous person's best friend because, unlike 99% of the music managers with their slimy reputation, he had the biggest heart in the room. After being ostrasized by the fellow prison guards because of his big unkempt hairstyle, Shep found himself holed up in a Hollywood hotel. That hotel turned out to be the infamous Landmark Motor Hotel selling drugs to none other than Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, and Jimi Hendrix. When Shep knew the heat would catch up to him sooner than later, he stepped away from dealing and got the idea from Hendrix to start managing music. "You're a Jew aren't you? You should manage music", and that's how it all started. Shep's first client was Alice Cooper, and they've been inseparable since. Even many, many, years and famous clients later, when Shep decided to retire he didn't retire from his best friend Cooper.It was with Cooper that Shep improvised press out of thin air turning Cooper into a star. Shep was a very adaptable manager who had a diversity of clients that spanned the hard rock stylings of Cooper, to the R&B Teddy Pendergrass, to the Canadian country good girl Anne Murray. He reached beyond music with many film producing credits, and when he became infatuated with the culinary arts, he represented the greatest chef's in the world, inventing the celebrity chef (Emeril Legasse among many others). The insight into each of these clients is truly wild and usually ended up with a happy ending; Pendergrass ending up a mixed bag tale.And while we could listen to Shep's wild tales and conquests forever, Myer's gets us deep access into his personal life, never letting us forget that this is a good human being who really made a difference in so many lives. His want for offspring keeps surfacing throughout. The mix of his earlier promiscuous life with his self sacrificial motivation to bring all of his clients everything they could ever want has left him without an heir to the Gordon empire. Shep gets closest to being a dad when tragedy strikes as an old girlfriend's grandchildren lose their mother and he comes to the rescue not only wildly financially but also as a loving father figure. That selfless deed is where the true legend of Shep Gordon lies, a supermensch, aka a superman."this" selfless deed is where the true legend of Shep Gordon lies, a supermensch, aka a superman.Matthew 7:12