Myth & Mogul: John DeLorean

Good movie!

Good movie!

Good movie!

Good movie!

Good movie!

Good movie!

The documentary was not bad but could've been better. The subject matter is always fascinating to get a glimpse into the life of the elite. I would imagine once you pull the curtain back on most of these very very wealthy people you'll find all types of stains that go unsaid. There are a lot of details they left out that would've gave us a better understanding of what was going on with this man. Overall a good introductory into the world that he tried to create. Much more left to be said though. Sadly the reporters come off looking like jealous hacks. Unfortunately journalism has taken such a downward spiral that their commentary on just about anything hurts their own credibility.

The two stars of this series, a stalker investigative journalist and woman who kept patting herself on the back for coining the term "midlife crisis" to describe men (which she clearly hates) who dare to reinvent themselves, were both narcissists. I saw another review that mentioned "character assassination." Couldn't agree more. I did give it a 5 because one part near the end with the stalker reporter made me laugh out loud.

One thing is for certain when it comes to John Delorean....he went for the gold and you can't fault him for that. The trouble is, like with any race, some people are gonna lose. Instead of losing because you weren't good enough, a lot of people lost because they believed in the bad methods of a relatively bad person. Like with any of these style of documentaries, the story tries really hard to build up the central figure into a god like status. So Delorean put fast cars and impressionable young men into one equation and somehow that made him a visionary. Yeesh, and we all thought modern day Boomers had no idea about the youth. Either way, with the gift of hindsight something that is incredibly obvious today turned a relatively overrated man into a superstar. It wasn't because of his ideas but because of the cultivated image that Delorean worked extremely hard to project. He liked expensive cars, food and trinkets. And because of this he convinced an air-headed model to marry him. Anyway, the story's second and third parts are really where the meat and potatoes of the story rounds out. Delorean, like many other rich business men of any indistinguishable era, did everything he could to convince people to pay for his extravagant ideas. And people kept giving him money due to his sociopathic capability of putting on the charm while he stole your wallet. He did this to automobile dealers, an entire government body and even his friends and family. Even when he had the world at his feet, he fell for the age old problem of wanting more. People like Delorean are dangerous, and it is unfortunate most people like him don't go down in flames more often. But it is satisfying to see the fall of a grifter, regardless of what great ideas he might have had. The end results will always tarnish the previous accomplishments, because it spells out the obvious in a lot of cases. A million dollar idea is usually a matter of luck, and it depends on whether you accept that fateful stroke of cosmic love or run it into the ground with your hubris and self aggrandizement. And if anyone cares, the Delorean kinda sucks. And yes I have seen them up close. People were so gullible to think this was a good idea. Anyone, enough of this review.

Interesting but incomplete. They leave out some very important facts that would have helped to understand this maniacal narcissist. First, he was married four times. His second marriage was to Kelly Harmon in 1969. She was 21. Her father was Tom Harmon, a former Heisman Trophy winner. Second, he was indicted for bankruptcy fraud in Detroit in the late 1980's and acquitted. Lastly, the son that is interviewed was adopted by Delorean when he was 14 months. There is no backstory to how and why he was adopted. Would have been interesting to know. And his New Jersey estate was later purchases by another celebrity/egomaniac/businessman, Donald Trump and converted into a golf course.