Burt's Buzz

I was raised on the coast of Downeast Maine. I'm sure by Burt's standard I'm a yuppie, but I would like to offer my perspective on him and the film as someone with the same background.

First if you don't like Burt's personality, the quintessential Maine man, that's fine but also understand that communicating and building trust looks different for people in rural areas. When I first left home I soon realized urban people try very hard to present publicly as friendly and appeasing all the time. In Maine it is okay to not be sociable, to feel outwardly uncomfortable, and to not want to share things about yourself. Generally in Maine we value sincerity over friendliness. Even now I am naturally suspicious when a person is super cheerful and animated when meeting me for the first time. It's not that we're not friendly, it's just that "we are who we are".

On that note I would say everyone who interacts with him in the movie have some sort of ulterior motive. That is probably why they perceive him as cold, and in my opinion he has every reason to not trust them. When his Taiwanese assistant laments about trying to get him to open his heart to hear, I think: "What care have you shown this person outside of your job. Why should he open up to you when your relationship to him is obligational?" Honestly you get the impression that he's wise to be cynical, as people like Roxanne will not hesitate to take advantage of his friendship.

I think this is a good film for people who are interested in the stark contrast of personality between people raised in rural areas and cities. I'd also recommend it to introverts, and people who are interested in alternative, low-key ways of being. I find the over-excited Taiwanese fans fawning over this man they've never seen to be kind of disturbing and overwhelming, and the movie does a good job of contrasting this against his daily life outside his cabin.

If you're left wanting for more information on the history of the company itself or the drama behind his personal relationships, I think you're missing the point. This movie gives us a view of someone who never asked to be thrust into the public eye and into a consumerist culture. Burt has to do battle every day reckoning with the brand that has no association with him whatsoever, but still relies on for income. He has a rare personality for a semi-public figure and I have a lot of empathy for him.

I give this movie 8 stars and not 10 because I do not appreciate the pitiful spin they try to put on his life after leaving the company. Burt seems like he is doing fine? (I realize he has since passed away) Otherwise I think it's a solid portrait of a Maine man juxtaposed against the insanity of everywhere else.

A great contrast of business and simple life through a really interesting men. I think is really interesting that the focus of this documentary is Burt's life because it shows how this Big business was not planned yo be as big as it became. I also really liked it because it has a lot of different things ti analyze and you can actually be intrigued by it whether you are a business man or you would like to have a simple life. The photography portraits really good the contrast between the two worlds, however, it does not make you feel pity for Burt because you know from the begging what's important for him. A good biographical documentary for someone's who's willing to see two different sides of a successful story. I enjoyed it the whole time, the only thing I would have asked is a little more depth into Burts life but I understand the privacy of his thoughts and the mystery of his life is part of the enchant.

It is rare that a documentary filmmaker can roll a long take on its subject for minutes on end, and they remain compelling. In this case, the long take is key to the enjoyment of the man and his story. This is a simple character study and a welcome one in a world filled with true crime docs that want to shock till you drop. For me, that's when documentary is at its very best. Studying people and events allowing life to play out without a sense that a filmmaker is dictating events to benefit a narrative they WANT. This documentary is all character which makes it quite engaging and substantive. I highly recommend this.

Jody Shapiro's documentary Burt's Buzz opens on an explosive note; we see Burt Shavitz, the creator of the natural, personal care product company Burt's Bees, walk through a Taiwan airport and be created with overwhelming love by the community. Burt, dressed like a hippie beekeeper (mainly because he is), boasting long gray hair and a long gray beard, a sunhat, and glasses, humbly waltzes through the crowd, taking pictures and occasionally seeming uncomfortable around the noise. As someone who had little knowledge on Burt's Bees as a company (and, even after watching this video, still admittedly does), I was stunned to see such overwhelming love and recognition for a man who founded a personal beauty company that has presumably found most of its success in America.

We cut to Burt back in his small Maine home, living off the desolate land with his friend Trevor Folson, in what Trevor refers to as "Burt's horde of peculiarity." We learn that excessive publicity, social media, and adoration from fans leaves him sickened and wanting to reach for his trusty shotgun. He states that a good day is when "no one shows up and you don't have to go anywhere," as he sits outside in a lawn-chair in a plaid flannel, jeans, and his trademark, unkempt beard, looking like a cross between Matthew McConaughey and Gandolf. He is anti-war and embraces being a free-spirit; someone who humbly sits back and watches the world naturally behave without tampering with nature's ways. To call him eclectic is entirely shortchanging; he's other-worldly unique and original.

After a good forty-five minutes of Burt aimlessly reciting his own personal ideology of the world and nature, we finally get into talking about Burt's Bees as a company. At first, Burt doesn't seem the least bit interested in talking about what made him so successful or what his company means to him, almost as if he didn't want a company in the first place or forgot he ever owned one. Burt tells us how the love of his life, Roxanne Quimby, essentially helped build Burt's Bees into what it currently is, and then, when Burt decided the company was growing too and retracted in his involvement in hopes to stay true to his authentic roots, Roxanne took the company as her's and more-or-less swindled him out of a great deal of money. She took Burt's Cottage Industry creation, oversaw its maximum profit potential, and took a whole of the company, seeing Burt's life as nothing more than a cute story; not a real meaningful lifestyle that he held near and dear to his heart. "She used me as a pillar to her own success," Burt humbly reflects.

And yet, Burt doesn't seem to hold any malice towards Roxanne, despite having every reason in the world to do so. He seems content simply living his life as it is today; simple, within his means, and pleasantly unproblematic. Trevor mentions how the only things Burt really loves in the world are "his dog, his land, his fields, and his oatmeal in the morning," showing quite simply what kind of a person he is through and through.

Burt's Buzz is a nice, surface-exploration of a man that most of us probably recognize but couldn't name before seeing this film. The downside is that Shapiro really doesn't seem to have much of an idea what to do with such a unique subject. In addition, Burt is so soft-spoken, quiet, and humble that the documentary winds up being flabby in a sense that there's a lot of dead-weight here, and the glacial pacing doesn't help much for that either. Burt doesn't seem to have any interest in his company, nor this documentary, and those two apparent features make this documentary a tough sit, as the dedication of the subject's involvement comes into question quite frequently.

However, the documentary ends on a rather intriguing note, with Burt being interviewed on a Taiwanese TV network asking what Burt's ultimate life philosophy or ideology is. Burt simply states, to which another coworker affirms, that so many see life as the accumulation of a great dealing of things. Burt doesn't want to accumulate as much as he wants to sit back and observe the world around him. Unfortunately, in Burt's Buzz, such ideologies and concepts of the world prove more interesting to discuss than to actually watch unfold.

Directed by: Jody Shapiro.

I have to admit that this doc was a pleasing experience - while at the same time acknowledging this documentary isn't for everyone.

I had no idea there was a real "Burt" behind Burt's bees, much less that he was so fascinating and strange. A true eccentric.

I also had no idea that there was a romance, intrigue, and drama behind the story. Or that Burt had a fan base.

This is a story about an odd man, and the odd things that happened to him, and how this became a huge brand. If you buy the products, it'll give what you buy an interesting dimension. Assuming you want to buy it again after you see this!