Being Michael Madsen is a Mockumentary from 2007 and it’s a lot of fun.
It tells the story of a Michael Madsen (Virginia Madsens brother if you didn’t by any chance know) who is very much fed up with this personal life been dragged through the Tabloid Headlines and all the lies that get made up about him.
The straw that breaks the camels back is a story that he’s actually gonna and murdered an extra who worked in the background of one his movies.
The story has been released into the public domain by Billy Dant (Jason Alan Smith), Michael of course maintains his innocence but is hounded at every opportunity by Billy at press conferences etc.
The one day, he gets the idea of flipping the script on its head and he employees three Documentary makers to make a film about the paparazzi, focusing mainly on Billy.
Of course he doesn’t like that the camera is now pointed at him and…
The film is presented as that Documentary that they are making, it has interviews with Michael himself and and a whole bunch of other people including his Mother – Elaine Madsen, Daryl Hannah, David Carradine, Harry Dean Stanton and of course his sister and our favourite lady Virginia Madsen.
And, I think it’s fair to say that it’s probably Virginia who has the most fun in this movie. She plays herself as being just that little bit jealous of her brother, and it’s actually pretty damn funny to watch. Her little jibes and sneers at it all. Almost worth the price of admission alone.
It’d be hard to recommend this one to just anyone. But I think if you take it for what it is then you’ll get a kick out of it. It’s quite enjoyable to watch all the fake interviews with Michael’s family and friends.
The “story” is well done, and I genuinely wanted to know what happened next at the end. There’s a whole bit where you know *something* has happened but it’s kept in the shadows for a little bit. I guess this is the part of a normal documentary where you already knew what happened, but as its fake we don’t till the reveal. Quite clever that way.
Update: 4th July 2025
With the tragic and sudden death of Michael Madsen, watching Being Michael Madsen now hits a little differently.
The film always played with the idea of myth versus man, but in hindsight, it also serves as a reminder of just how much presence Michael brought to the screen, and that he wasn’t afraid to poke a little fun at himself.
His absence is going to be felt for a long time.
Availability:
Not hard to find on Region 1 DVD but I did have to pay full price for it. No cheap ones kicking around as far as I could see.
Trailer:
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