 Fasten your seatbelts, Readers. Its going to be a bumpy night. The infuriating vanity-project that is "Becoming Iconic," which is recently out on DVD and streaming from Random Media, requires diverging from the usual modus operandi at this site. Believe it or not, this post holds punches. Your not-so-humble reviewer prides himself on being as kind as possible regarding films; largely staying out of Blogland is another source of self-esteem. Sadly, "Iconic" is not conducive to either policy. The standard for claiming a Mulligan regarding a review copy of a movie or a television program is to only request a pass based on being unable to write anything nice about that production. "Iconic" does have several good points. The concept of some of the best (but not necessarily iconic) living directors discussing entering that field is interesting; further, those talking heads do not disappoint regarding their insights and anecdotes. Hearing one director compare a first-time directing job with losing your actual virginity is an apt and amusing analogy. Hearing how young child-actor Jodie Foster learns that an thespian also can be a director is another highlight. This is similar to "Happy Days" producer Garry Marshall setting Ron Howard, who does not participate in "Iconic," on the path to his directing career. The primary subject is the problem. Jonathan Baker is so obnoxious and has the arrogance to make himself a more prominent topic than the Hollywood successes that he recruits for his project that he literally becomes unwatchable. This is not mention hyping the hobby business of his wife and his sporting a dye job that does not seem to meet the standard of a bargain chain salon. It looks as if his stylist uses Thom McCan Black. A related note that requires noting that referring to Baker as "that guy" reflects the aforementioned restraint. The same irresistible urge to fast-forward through much of "Iconic" at the 45-minute mark relates to commenting a variation of "not that fornicating orifice again" whenever Baker subsequently appears on the screen. The footage of the other directors from that point on remains solid. They all continue to present themselves well. The following YouTube clip of the "Iconic" trailer perfectly illustrates the agony and the ecstasy of the film. We see Foster, Taylor Hackford, Adrian Lyne and their peers discuss losing their directing cherry. Baker largely is o.k. regarding discussing his 2017 film "Inconceivable." Describing this project about which many people do not know and that has a 5.2 rating on IMDb and 3i-percent Tomatometer status as iconic really pushes the envelope. This discussion of that promo. further is a good point for sharing a major peeve with "Iconic." Many of the interviews provides a sense that they are not filmed for "Iconic," and that the directors are only discussing their directing careers and the general topic of their craft, Footage of Baker "coming out" to Foster and another director near the end of the film essentially verifies that impression The talking heads express great surprise that the interviews are for a film about Baker. This is not to mention that Baker produced "Iconic." It seems that a true wunderkind does not need to finance a film about his rising fame. The trailer including the inevitable conclusion of another scene at the end of "Iconic" relates to another bone of contention. We see photos of the aforementioned participants; these images shrink down and go off to the side as the group gets larger. This is until a much larger photo of Baker literally and figuratively appears in the middle of the screen. Much of the offensiveness of Baker relates to over-hyping his relationship with Warren Beatty, whom it is believed does not provide an interview for the film. Baker makes it seem both that Beatty sells him his house based on the work of Baker and that he and Beatty are best buds to the extent that many viewers will scream a variation of "enough about fornicating Warren Beatty" at the screen. One can further imagine Beatty simply humoring this guy until they seal the real-estate deal.
An amusing side note is that Beatty is an inspiration for the Carly Simon hit "You're So Vain." It seems very probable that Baker would have had that honor if Simon knew him when composing that tune. IF Beatty does not provide an interview for "Iconic," listing his name among the other participants on the movie poster is highly misleading. Baker goes comparably overboard when discussing his independent childhood in New York; he repeats his story about being an a young accompanied minor on the subway at least four times. The same is true regarding his sharing that Marilyn Monroe (who was not a director) died the year that he was born and that he bought the burial plot next to hers. These references to the obnoxiousness of Baker illustrate the major flaw of "Iconic." His work does not support his arrogance, and he does not display either enough likability or talent to make him a good film topic.
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