To Be Takei - yes, George Takei is a nice guy.. (IDFA Review)
George Takei is a charming guy. If you've ever seen him do anything as himself, you probably know this. And after watching his new doc "To Be Takei," I'm sure of it. It's just, there doesn't seem to be much more to it than that.
Best of Fests #IDFA 2014
In To Be Takei, we follow the now 77-year-old Star Trek actor and his husband Brad Altman in their day-to-day life. I say Star Trek actor, as this is what he's known for. But as his Star Trek days are long gone, you can imagine we're not following Takei during the most spectacular days of his life.
I hate to be the negative Nancy here, but watching To Be Takei feels like watching a random celebrity reality tv episode. Sure, it's entertaining, especially if you're a fan of George Takei, but not something to watch in the theater or even turn into a movie to be honest.
So are there no positives about To Be Takei? Sure. The film goes into his youth, when his family was forced to live in an internment camp with other Japanese Americans during WWII. A time that understandably impacted him greatly. An interesting story he has since turned into a musical called Allegiance, still expected to open on Broadway sometime next year.
For the rest, there aren't many interviews with other people than Takei and his husband Brad. We see him go on Howard Stern a couple of times. He has his feud with William Shatner. Some scenes go into how Brad manages his life. He signs some more autographs, and that's about it.
It's an okay doc if you're somewhat interested in George Takei. Just don't expect to come out of it enlightened.
