This was a documentary that went on my radar when Duncan from The Podcast Under the Stairs did an episode on it. I'll be honest, I had no idea who El Duce or The Mentors were. The things that Duncan said about this intrigued me so it went on a list of things to check out. Since I work in an office, I decided to watch this late in the day to pass the time since I could treat it like a podcast.
What we get here is a funny and yet tragic tale of El Duce. This gives his humble beginnings. We learn about his homelife and how that led him to be the man that he became. There seemed to be a perfect storm when he and his band, The Mentors, came out. This led to success. It was also a time where the government was stepping into censoring music, movies and video games. This brought notoriety to the group.
I'd also say that this is tragic. El Duce didn't seem to care much about himself. There were demons there that he treated with alcohol instead of dealing with them. This is tragic as his 5 minutes of fame came to an end. He ended up homeless and the butt of jokes. Seeing the later footage was depressing.
I should point out that an independent actor decided to do home videos to document this guy and his band. Ryan Sexton was his name. From my understanding, this was filmed in the 90s and then kept in a storage unit. It seemed a perfect time to bring this out and put it together. It is an interesting look at this wild guy for sure.
What I will warn you though is that this was filmed on VHS tape. The quality isn't great, but there's not much that can be done there. What I will say is that adds charm. There is a home video feel to it. I mean, that is exactly what it is. Hearing these people's thoughts during the height of this guy and then during his downfall is an interesting insight as well. If you're a fan or at least know of this guy or his band, give this a watch. This guy is deplorable, but I still wonder how much he thought and how much he did it to be hated. Regardless, this is an intriguing watch.
My Rating: 7 out of 10.