McConaugheMay Day 7: I Am Evel Knievel

Evel Knievel is one of those great American legends that I don't really know much about except through the people that adored him (Jackass star Johnny Knoxville chief among them). This documentary is a glowing hagiography of a guy who seems much more interesting as a real person than he was as a legend. Unfortunately, the people interviewed, almost to a man, even the ones who knew him, all seem more interested in the legend than the person. His wife and his girlfriend (that he picked up when she was in college and he was 61) have a hesitancy in their segments that seem to speak to a more nuanced understanding of the man behind the myth. They also seem careful not to pop the bubble of that myth, perhaps feeling that it's not the place for their stories, which is a shame.

If you don’t know anything about Evel Knievel beyond what you could glean from general pop culture osmosis (as I did), this is about as decent a rundown as you could expect. There’s context around the politics of the day and Knievel himself, a bit about what made him different from other stuntmen, and how adeptly he was able to navigate a changing media landscape and capitalism in general.

The film is interesting as a look at a guy who epitomized an era and idea of American masculinity, a time where being tough and mean and drunk and horny all the time wasn't just acceptable, but laudable. To live actively, with no real self-control or empathy outside of your beer buddies and your family, to snake oil sell your way to the top of America. There are notes here of aging celebrities finding new outlets for their hucksterism and undeniable charisma; Knievel missed his calling as a politician in his old age, I think. Honestly devastating to see even his sons speak admirably about their dad constantly cheating on their mom, their perception of him (or at least the stories they feel comfortable sharing) isolated to the jumps, the travels, the drinking and cheating. If there is a man behind those stories, we don't really learn about him.

McConaughey was apparently a friend of his which explains why he's in this and I think he produced another doc about Evel. As far as McConaugheMay, he offers a revealing look at himself through Evel by saying "Some people take off the cape and some people never do" and "A lotta times you're pissed off cuz they don't live up to the romanticized ideal of who you thought they were. But that's okay. You're getting something from a hero that's gonna make you something of a better person." I've watched all these movies starring this man and I still don't think I've seen the real guy behind the Texan footaball player turned quasi-hippie surfer, the ill-fitting romcom lead, the actor trying to prove himself with psychotic roles... The guy who has just enough of a sense of his own myth to spin it but not so much as to control it entirely. I wonder when, if ever, he takes off his own cape.