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That is the question director Ben Berman faces after getting to know John Edward Szeles aka The Amazing Johnathan. An American stand-up comedian and legendary magician, Johnathan’s story follows in the footsteps of many troubled performers before him: on top of the world one minute, drugs and depression the next. Fascinated by Johnathan’s history and rocked by his public health crisis, Ben sets out to document the final days of Johnathan’s life. However, things don’t go according to plan, and the unraveling of everything Ben thought he knew about the man he considered a friend is captured in the thrilling feature, The Amazing Johnathan Documentary.
Johnathan is best described as a man with nothing to lose, a disruptor in the entertainment industry akin to Mickey Rourke or Angelyne. We are first introduced to The Amazing Johnathan at his lavish home in Henderson, NV. He has recently been diagnosed with terminal heart disease and given one year to live, (ironically, wearing a “Legends Never Die” t-shirt). The first quarter of the film feels like a traditional documentary as Ben and his crew and Johnathan and his wife, Anastasia Synn, discuss his drug habit (cocaine, speed, meth) and get ready to hit the road for his final comedy and magic tour. However, things take a turn when Ben discovers that Johnathan has allowed another documentary crew to film him as well. Two documentary crews making a documentary about the same subject understandably frustrates Ben, but he does his best to stay true to their original story. With the surprise behind him, Ben carries on production… that is, until he finds out there is a third crew coming. As well as a fourth.
The Amazing Johnathan Documentary is one of the most fascinating portraits of the human condition and the power of manipulation. It puts not only Ben but every viewer into a situation where losing sight of what’s right vs. wrong, truth vs. illusion is tested. This “straightforward” documentary eventually spirals into gonzo journalism when an unconventional proposition to smoke meth together on camera is made. Crazy? Absolutely, but given everything Ben and his team have been though, at this point in the film, he considers it. That’s the power, or at least the illusion of power, that The Amazing Johnathan has over Ben. It’s an unsettling circumstance that has Ben questioning the validity of Johnathan’s condition; is he really dying? Or is this just an Andy Kaufman-esque prank? The Amazing Johnathan Documentary is an unforgettable portrait of a truly tortured artist and guarantees that you’ll never look at a magician in the same way again.
