"Toward the end of its run, as reasonable guests (and major advertisers like
Domino’s Pizza) became harder and harder to woo, The Morton Downey, Jr.
Show became more and more of a Network-style sideshow, peopled by
assorted crazies and attention-mongers: Nazi skinheads, strippers, conspiracy
theorists. The speed of his downfall makes the last third of the documentary
difficult to watch: We see an increasingly out-of-touch Downey berating and
humiliating his guests and employees, then physically assaulting his wife before
leaving her for a much younger woman, whom he proceeds to nearly bankrupt
himself spending his money on. (They would remain together until his death.)
He’s an unredeemable bastard, but in his pettiness and desperate need for
recognition, there’s something moving too. The man whose logo was a cartoon of a
wide-open, yammering mouth would probably not have objected to this mostly
unflattering but ultimately respectful portrait."
Dana Stevens in Slate reviews Evocateur: The Morton Downey, Jr. Movie.
Saturday, June 08, 2013
"Passion Plays on Television, Even If It’s an Act"
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