by Anthony O'Connor
Worth: $14.00
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
Corey Feldman, Darci Carpenter, Brittany Chapman, Eden Feldman, Jimena Fosado, Will Fredericks, Margot Lane
Intro:
... an engaging enough look at someone who epitomises why parents should think long and bloody hard about getting their kids into the entertainment biz.
There was a time, in the 1980s, when Corey Feldman was the hottest kid actor around. The little tacker was everywhere! Friday the 13th Part IV: The Final Chapter (1984), Gremlins (1984), Goonies (1985), Stand by Me (1986) and The Lost Boys, Feldman had a stranglehold on the collective imaginations of that McDecade and melted many a heart with his mastery of pathos and light comedy. However, Hollywood was cruel to child stars at the time (and probably still is, albeit less overtly) and Corey Feldman and his best mate Corey Haim were chewed up, spat out, allegedly sexually abused and ended up with the inevitable mental health and substance abuse issues so common to their ilk. There was even a reality TV show, The Two Coreys, in 2007, and neither of the lads looked particularly healthy. Tragically, Haim died in 2010, but Feldman kept on keeping on, launching a national music tour with his band of lingerie-clad “Angels” and getting into all manner of hijinks, many of them profoundly cringe-inducing. Corey Feldman vs The World is, in part, the story of that woefully ill-judged tour and a spotlight on a person who was shaped by an industry that trades in flesh and lies. Or perhaps it’s the story of a manipulative narcissist.
Perhaps it’s both.
Corey Feldman vs The World reintroduces viewers to former child actor Corey Feldman, now a middle aged man who, somewhat inexplicably, chooses to spend much of his life dressing and dancing like Michael Jackson. Feldman has formed an odd cult-like relationship with a group of women he calls “Corey’s Angels”, usually leggy blondes (one of whom he marries) who follow his strict guidelines regarding behaviour, dress and diet. It’s a bit crook and controlling but at first seems to be more eccentric than harmful. The vast bulk of CFvTW follows Corey and his ladies on a journey that begins with a mortifying performance on NBC’s Today show (which nonetheless goes megaviral) and then on a road trip across a series of dodgy venues in the US, putting on shows for the very drunk and/or terminally nostalgic. To be fair to Feldman, he gives every performance his all, dancing like no one’s watching and singing like no one should be, and for much of the runtime he seems like a troubled but ultimately well intentioned underdog.
That impression, however, begins to waver. See, Feldman is very manipulative, at turns domineering and bratty, and eventually even the most patient of Angels cracks the shits and exits stage right. There’s something very sad about watching a bloke who was undoubtedly the victim of a corrupt system becoming downright messianic as he tries to “save” the Angels, Hollywood and the world.
Director Marcie Hume seems very comfortable in the early stages of the doco when things are chaotic and amusing, giving all those involved time to speak their truth no matter how bizarre or deluded. It does lose its way in the back section, however, and ends with a rather deceptive edit that seems to imply that Corey’s tell-all documentary – (My) Truth: The Rape of 2 Coreys – was a long con perpetuated on a bunch of rubes. The truth is a little more complicated, for as much as Feldman craves attention, he did actually end up making a film and he did screen it for the live audience (although the streaming crowd never saw it). Since then, it’s sat on the shelf, allegedly for legal reasons, but it’s an odd way to end the doc and feels a little misleading.
Still and all, for those who love to watch their reality shows or Hollywood documentaries from behind their fingers while cringing, Corey Feldman vs The World is an engaging enough look at someone who epitomises why parents should think long and bloody hard about getting their kids into the entertainment biz.
