Ron Jeremy is adored by thousands, possibly millions, of fans. All of them have inevitably at one point in their lives caught a glimpse of a fat man with a hairy back, ridiculous moustache and gigantic penis making noisy love to a big-breasted woman. His everyman looks and charismatic 'acting' style gave hope to even the most grotesque of horny males, standing out amongst an array of muscular, polished male porn stars. The sheer volume of his output (he claims to have made over 1,500 movies) all but guarantees that he's in at least one of those VHS tapes you find under your dad's bed as a teenager. But there's something quite tragic beneath all the frat house appearances and self-parodying movie cameos, and it's all the sadder that this documentary doesn't really dig deep enough.Porn Star takes an episodic approach, each focusing on different aspects and episodes of Ron's life. We also get talking-head interviews from the likes of Jenna Jameson and the amusing Larry Flynt, all offering their own anecdotes and insights to the man nicknamed 'The Hedgehog'. It's all light-hearted and loosely structured, but the movie fails to really get a grasp of its subject, preferring to lovingly mock him or to allow others to tell his story. Ron never seems to stop working, attending anything he's invited to and keeping a giant book of contacts that looks like gibberish to anyone apart from him. And it's this somewhat naive drive to achieve mainstream respectability that makes him a tragic character, something the film could have explored in more depth. But ultimately, Porn Star is just a bit of a drag, never managing to capture the energy and tacky razzle-dazzle of the glory days of porn.
Directed by: Scott G. Jill
Starring: Ron Jeremy
Country: USA
Rating: **
Tom Gillespie
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