Abel Raises Cain

Very entertaining, if somewhat amateurish and thin documentary about Alan Abel, a sort of Sasha Baron Cohen of the 60s and 70s who played politically inspired hoaxes on the press.

While the film itself isn't amazing on a technique level, Abel as a character, and his bits are so funny that it makes this worthwhile. And there's something innately touching about a documentary 'tribute' to a father made by his daughter.

Plus, the DVD extras, with all sorts of footage of Abel doing his bits are even more fun than the film itself, and help raise it to this rating.

This film is about a famous hoaxter--a guy who loves to be in the limelight and make the media buy into patently ridiculous stories. Interestingly, the film was created by the man's daughter and it's a portrait of his life and exploits. I was surprised when I first started watching this documentary. Although Jenny Abel was talking about her father, so much of what she said sounded a lot like my dad. Her father, Alan Abel, is a provocateur--a man who LOVES antagonizing people and pulling their legs. And, on MANY occasion, he's created very elaborate hoaxes that got him or his confederates on TV as supposedly real news stories. Such crazy stuff as campaigns that were anti-breast feeding, anti-naked animals, KKK orchestra (for a kinder, gentler Klan), selling kidney for $25,000, Females for Felons (i.e., prostitutes for prisoners) as well as pretending to have the missing 18 minutes of Nixon tapes! Yet all these and many more were swallowed with little question by the media! My father, to a smaller extent, also liked doing things like this--and I grew up assisting him in fake invasions from outer space and the like! And, like Abel, my father certainly never got rich doing any of this--he just liked the pleasure of shocking and fooling people as well as occasionally showing up in the news. And, like Abel, worked freelance jobs for years and was one jump ahead of various creditors. Now I am not comparing my father to Abel--he wasn't THAT good at carrying out national hoaxes, though he did make a habit of messing with folks' minds--something I did, in my own inimitable fashion, when I was teaching (it's AMAZING what kids will believe). And so, it's no surprised that I loved this documentary! And, unless you have no sense of humor, you, too, will have a great time watching about this wacky guy.

By the way, this film reminds me of web hoaxes like "People Against Poodles" or "Black Market Babies". These sites had to be taken down because of the outcry by idiots who THOUGHT they were real. What was most amusing weren't the crazy claims they made but real letters sent in by people who believed it! The vitriol and time spend writing these letters about FAKE websites was pretty funny.

Super inspiring documentary about Alan Abel, a fairly well known "media hoaxer". He did things like hired a bunch of people in the Donahue studio audience to pretend they fainted (a "faint" in) and campaigned for the nutritional benefits of eating nothing but hair. It goes deeper too, with some unbelievable stuff I'll let you find out yourself... It was also made by the guys daughter so it's tender and special. Just like you. While you're at it you might want to check out Alan's movie he made in the seventies called "Is There Sex After Death?" and "The Faking of the President". All really funny. He's a wicked good drummer too.