The legend of Evel Knievel is one that is told every day in these modern times. At the dawn of this wee millennium, his spirit rose like a phoenix through the booming action sports mania that continues to pulse through today. It found itself in the belly of the early days of reality television as, back in the 70s, Knievel was its first superstar. A particular gang of boneheads somehow got a television deal, named their show Jackass and made millions in the same way that Knievel did: putting their bodies in danger for, not ego and fame like Knievel, but for the sake of laughs and loony, teenage fun.
This past week, the Jackass team was in attendance for the premiere of the documentary Being Evel, not as fans, but as film-makers honoring the late motorcycle daredevil. Producing under their Dickhouse production banner with Academy-Award winning director Daniel Junge – whose last feature documentary, Beyond the Brick: A LEGO Brickumentary, saw release only a month ago – in the director’s seat, Being Evel is a rather heartfelt tribute for clan of such doofuses.
Angry and complicated, he is an outlaw – a true American cowboy and perhaps one of the last.
The subject of the film speaks for himself. For those who grew up glued to Kneivel’s stunts on ABC’s Wide World of Sports, his unflinching rockstar ego comes alive again, full force through career-spanning archival footage. He is a rich documentary subject. Angry and complicated, he is an outlaw – a true American cowboy and perhaps one of the last. Junge allows the most honest portrait of Knievel by not holding back; the jumps, the missed landings, the scuffles with the press – it’s all there. The film is a museum piece to the daredevil.
The interviewees both legitimize what is already on screen, and also provide a fascinating depth to the man. To begin, there is a very impressive spectrum of personalities who give their Knievel tales from miners in his hometown of Butte, Montana, to his close family, to the modern action sports celebrities who have given a legacy to his stunts. While the movie theater location of the interviews is rather hokey and some of the dialogue sounds curiously pre-written – see Knoxville’s awkward, though wildly passionate and knowledgeable interview that runs throughout the film – this lineup adds an incredible narrative to the piece.
Being Evel does feel particularly long despite its average 100 minute runtime and rapid pacing. Perhaps this is because of the saturation of interview subjects that weave in so quick, you forget their relation to the man. Or perhaps it is the nature of a documentary that is so comprehensive of its subject from beginning to end. Whatever reason, it is baffling that a narrative feature has not yet been filmed about Evel Knievel, a man that Being Evel nearly resurrects to reveal one of the more bizarre and fascinating personalities of the 20th century.
Being Evel is now playing at Sundance Cinemas West Hollywood.
