Where I Watched it: MAX
English Audio Description provided By Point360
Narrated By: Roy Samuelson
Adding to the ever growing list of documentaries from this year centered around famous celebrities, we now have a Rock Hudson documentary. If you were born in the last 20 years, he was like the Matt Bomer of his day. Except, we all know Matt Bomer is gay, and Rock Hudson did his career from the closet.
As a film buff, i was totally here for a documentary that focused on Rock and his career. I was hoping for some great insight, maybe learning about the roles he just missed out on, the roles he chased, the roles he was considered for, and other Hollywood relevant news. We get something a little different.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying we can’t have a Rock Hudson gay icon documentary, but it feels like this one is almost a placeholder for all the other rumored stars of his time who never officially came out. it’s easier to talk about Rock Hudson and how he successfully hid, and what his life was like off screen, than it is to pull a Full Service and name names. It’s as much of a documentary about what it was like for the closeted actors of the Golden age, as it is a Rock Hudson biography.
Of course, we do eventually cover the tragic diagnoses that hit Rock, and some discussion on the final days. Some people are still alive today who remembered Rock from back then, which is somewhat of an accomplishment. They are able to add a lot of flavor and context to the film. it feels honest, but it feels like it’s less concerned about Rock Hudson’s dream role than his dream guy.
The gay critic in me has no problem with this as Rock Hudson is remembered almost as much for his films as he is for his diagnoses. The blind critic in me appreciates the audio description that often is able to tell us exactly which film is being used on screen, when the clips used are so specific to what is going on at that stage in his life.And for the Gossip in me, who wanted that Hollywood dish, the director did include a testimonial from a lover of Rock’s about just how… endowed… an artist he was. So, it might not be the role he wanted, but it was the role he got, and is remembered for.
The only problem is that this film does tend to inflate Rock Hudson’s status in Hollywood a bit, calling him the biggest star of his time. That’s not true, and it never was. he certainly was one of the stars, but to try and say that he was ever the Tom Cruise of his moment is just wrong. Other actors really held the top spot, and maybe ten paces down would be Rock. Still far above almost everyone else, but never quite at the top.
A very creative documentary with some audio description that really does try to make as big of an impact as possible, despite the fact that it seems like someone is always talking. Documentaries can be one of the hardest things to audio describe, but being able to define a lot of the film clips certainly goes a long way. It really is all the audio description this film allowed.
Final Grade: A-