How to Be a Man

It's always fun to watch a movie filmed on location in a place that you're familiar with. All the more when that place is Brooklyn.

It is safe to say that most of the movies I start these days, I do not finish, and safer yet to say that I was quite surprised to make it to the rolling of the credits for How To Be A Man.

Within the first thirty minutes I could make out a solid (if absurd) plot, a charismatic lead, strong writing, and at least two corners I had puked into in recent months (RIP Trash Bar).

HTBAM is more or less a stand up comedy routine in the disguise of a movie, showcasing the comedic stylings of the film's lead, Gavin McInnes. Gavin is a force, and carries 92% of the weight of a production that could likely have not been made possible without him.

It was good enough that I later did some research on McInnes, and found that he had written a book titled 'How To Piss In Public'. I bought it, read half of it, and that was good enough for me. There is some arguably interesting stuff in there, particularly for those that might hold 80-90s American punk history at all nostalgic. But I'm not here to sell books.

Less than one month after watching HTBAM, I bumped into Gavin himself at the corner of N5th and Bedford Ave., in the heart of Williamsburg. I give him a hearty hello, praised his fine work, and we ended up chatting for nearly thirty minutes. I still have a series of selfies I took of the two of us in that span, including one of him kissing me on my cheek with his greasy yet perfectly manicured handlebar moustache.

And that was that. Until...

Three years later I was living in Arizona, and the story of how I met this no-name star of this forgotten movie came into conversation at a party. When I mentioned Gavin by name, one person in attendance uttered something along the lines of, "holy sh#t", you made out with the founder of the Proud Boys." I had no idea what that meant at the time. But I do now.

If you're fortunate enough to subscribe to the 'death of the author' philosophy, then you might be able to enjoy this genuinely funny film, starring the human personification of a leaky douchebag.

Proud of your boy I'll make you proud of your boy Believe me, bad as I've been, Ma You're in for a pleasant surprise

I've wasted time I've wasted me So say I'm slow for my age A late bloomer, Okay, I agree

That I've been one rotten kid Some son, some pride and some joy But I'll get over these lousing' up Messin' up, screwing' up times

You'll see, Ma, now comes the better part Someone's gonna make good Cross his stupid heart Make good and finally make you Proud of your boy

Tell me that I've been a louse and loafer You won't get a fight here, no ma'am Say I'm a goldbrick, a goof-off, no good But that couldn't be all that I am

Water flows under the bridge Let it pass, let it go There's no good reason that you should believe me Not yet, I know, but

Someday and soon I'll make you proud of your boy Though I can't make myself taller Or smarter or handsome or wise

I'll do my best, what else can I do ? Since I wasn't born perfect like Dad or you Mom, I will try to Try hard to make you Proud of your boy

Gavin McInnes seems to have the same problem as Robert DeNiro. By wanting to be a businessman, betting on as many horses as possible, his audience can't remember when was the last time he came up with good material. Whilst playing with the subject of 'older guy trying to make a point', the viewer is submitted to a wafer-thin script & very poor execution. The deadpan reactions of the main character simply aren't funny enough and so called embarrassing situations are too scripted and badly acted to get a reaction. Maybe some millennials and neo-con former-hipsters will appreciate the obvious irony, but I would steer everyone away from this dud.

"How to be a man" is a film that was recommended to me by one of my friends. And i figured "why not?". It seemed like an interesting movie to check out after reading a quick synopsis. I was never a fan of Gavin McInnis(never even heard of him before seeing this). After watching this, not much changed my mind. Gavin plays a former stand-up that decides to document raw footage of "how to deal with the world". Because, he believes he's going to die soon from his breast cancer. He gets the help from a young man he jokes to be his "son"(which goes nowhere by the way). The first 45 minutes of this movie seemed like it was heading towards a good direction. But, after the second act. It falls off a cliff like a giant rhino driving a truck. The awkward jokes may seem funny. And there were good jokes. But, the reactions were so bad. This felt like the straight to video American pie movies. But, i held out hope. Just hoping that the ending would save the whole thing. I was incredibly disappointed. The ending betrays everything leading up to it. And i felt I've wasted my time. On the plus side, this movie is only an hour and twenty minutes. By the hour mark, i was checking my time code just waiting for this end. 4/10. Not a horrible movie. But, very skippable.

Wow. I totally loved this film!

I guess it depends which side of the tracks you were born on, as to whether you will appreciate and truly understand the meaning of this film. I can only guess that all the negative reviewers are woke snowflakes, who live in their intellectual and superior minds all day, but have never experienced the rough and tumble of real life. The main character is experiencing an existential crisis, which is why his behaviour may seem weird and not funny at all. If you like watching shows like South Park, you will probably like and understand this film. I highly recommend it.