Harmontown (2014)

Harmontown: Directed by Neil Berkeley. With Dan Harmon, Jeff Bryan Davis, Erin McGathy, Spencer Crittenden. A documentary that follows Dan Harmon on tour for his podcast series after he was fired from Community in 2012.

“An intimate behind-the-scenes documentary covering Dan Harmon (creator of Community, co-creator of Rick and Morty) and his short tour of seat-of-the-pants live podcasts in the winter of 2012. It dangles precariously between worshiping the man (via dozens of high-profile testimonials) and vilifying him (the same talking heads almost unanimously have a bad story to tell about his self-destructive nature) which makes for a difficult, conflicted narrative. Especially as he seems to have no interest in seriously changing his ways, even after breaking down and confessing to his many sins. Harmonu0026#39;s connection with his audience, and with his small cast of cobbled-together costars, is special and real, the kind of rapport that thousands of wannabe cult productions chase to their last breath. Maybe his shortcomings as a human fuel that fire in ways that a more composed creative wouldnu0026#39;t, but it still begs a question: how much more prolific could this guy be if heu0026#39;d ever get his act together? Even his most passionate fans seem to realize that he can be a real dick at times, most notably when he airs the dirty laundry of a late-night fight with his long-suffering girlfriend right there on one show. The same fans who lined up at the door to hear what heu0026#39;ll do or say next agree almost unanimously that he was in the wrong, leaving him to awkwardly eat a little crow. The documentary itself is a bit long, especially in getting to a conclusion, but otherwise does a nice job of mixing laugh-out-loud moments from the stage with heartfelt confessions and closed-door implosions away from the public eye. Great if youu0026#39;re already a fan, but a little narrow and long-winded if youu0026#39;re not.”