The Ringmaster

Perfect documentary of a director with a history of gambling and a warm heart. Rolling the dice over and over for a Jackpot ending. He tries to raise the pot and stack the deck with more unwanted direct influences into the subjects life. Wagering his next hand will win the fairytale/Jackpot ending we all want to see. But he eventually sees the cards were always stacked against him. That he was working with a dead man's hand all along. That true history shows that the House of Life will decide who wins.

Watch this to see a spoiled boy wearing adult clothes thinks if he buys cameras, throws money at a crew, and sports a backward-wearing Kangol cap he's a filmmaker. He's not.

This is not a documentary of Larry Lang. This is an ego-driven, people destroying, tramp through a person's life for the non-talented Zachs' own aggrandizement. There's not a boot big enough to kick that faux filmmaker's ass back to his manipulative home in his self-important dreamland. The crew of his excuse-making sycophants are equally deserving of shame.

By the end of this disaster you realize the only decent person in the whole documentary is Larry. All the rest are dingleberries on the buttholes of life.

My family grew up visiting this area in Southwest Minnesota where the famous onion rings are from and we all thought the documentary was a touching tribute to a true Minnesota legend. Compelling and heartbreaking. We were on the edge of our seats for 88 minutes. It is an emotional film that will leave you thinking for sure. I laughed, I cried and I felt deeply for all the characters. We were saddened to hear that Larry recently passed away but we're glad to hear that he had a chance to see the film in a sold out theater before the pandemic. This documentary ensures that his legacy will live on and I hope the rings become available again one day because they really are as good as everyone says in the movie.

Onions have layers, just like people do, and this movie is a perfect demonstration of just how complicated people truly are. Just as the two heroes from the cult classic "American Movie" set out on an unabashedly honest attempt at creating true art, their final product pales in comparison to their journey. That's where all the revelations are, along the path. As Zack bumbles his way face forward into pursuing his personal vision we get a rare opportunity to observe humans in a truly chaotic situation doing what humans do best, not knowing what we are doing. The result is one of the most honest and interesting documentaries about real Americans and the dreams we pursue as well as what shapes our lives. Just as we laughed and jived at the filmmakers of "American Movie" the honesty of the film is what has cemented it as cult classic years later. It's a real movie, with real people, and real consequences which is also a testament to the art of documentaries and how the art truly is a jungle. I recommend a viewing to any auteur looking for something new and raw.

The glowing reviews show that this is a "brave" documentary that peels back layers of humanity to pursue a man's dream of creating a documentary about Larry Lang and his famous onion rings.

What I found was a tale of a narcissistic filmmaker that manipulates a man to fit his narrative so he can finish a project and make a profit. I was fine with the subject matter, and I kept holding out to find some redemption for Zachary Capp (the filmmaker and co-star) as a human. Unfortunately, there was no redemption, no remorse, no apologies, ... nothing. This film was borderline unethical to film, and hard to watch with any sort of conscious.

The film was edited and shot well, with few complaints of the overall cinematography. I wish I could say the same about the narrative and overall character of the filmmaker.

This film was overall thought provoking. The hate and animosity that builds for the filmmaker is powerful, but not redeeming enough to warrant a higher review.