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Reviews
The Amazing Johnathan Documentary (2019)
Other guys: not getting it
This isn't about The Amazing Jonathan. Well, it is, but not only about him. But that's ok, because "The Amazing Jonathan Documentary" is a title with dual meanings. It could be about Jonathan, but it's also about the Amazing Jonathan documentaries: The one that Nikki could not finish, the one from the filmmakers who claimed to be associated with Simon Chinn but weren't, and the other, from the juggler who also wanted to follow Jonathan around. And it becomes clear that it's not about Jonathan (but sort of is), and it's not about Ben (but it sort of is). It's about the documentary industry and how it's become saturated with wannabe Panabakers and Chinns trying to find a new angle on things that, let's be honest, only a few people care about. Reaching it's most absurd, meta-moment when three different people are pictured filming Jonathan from three different crews. It's a deconstruction. This is Ben Berman's version of the classic Sherman's March, only less contrived, and at least a little more about the titled subject than that film was.