Plot
A documentary on legendary Hollywood insider Shep Gordon, who fell into artist management by chance after moving to LA straight out of college.
Release Year: 2013
Rating: 6.9/10 (72 voted)
Critic's Score: 62/100
Director: Beth Aala
Stars: Shep Gordon, Sylvester Stallone, Michael Douglas
Storyline
In his directorial debut, Mike Myers documents the astounding career of Hollywood insider, the loveable Shep Gordon, who fell into music management by chance after moving to LA straight out of college, and befriending Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison and Jimi Hendrix. Shep managed rock stars such as Pink Floyd, Luther Vandross, Teddy Pendergrass and Alice Cooper, and later went on to manage chefs such as Emeril Lagasse, ushering in the era of celebrity chefs on television. Stuffed with fantastic archive footage the film traces Shep's transformation from the 1970's hedonist to today's practicing Buddhist yearning for a family of his own.
Cast: Tom Arnold -
Himself
Alice Cooper -
Himself
Michael Douglas -
Himself
Shep Gordon -
Himself
Emeril Lagasse -
Himself
Anne Murray -
Herself
Willie Nelson -
Himself
Derek Shook -
Himself
Sylvester Stallone -
Himself
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.
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