The Lady and the Dale

Intriguing HBO documentary about a serial con man. Better than "McMillions".

Strange and fascinating four part Documentary about a transgender woman named Elizabeth Carmichael (nee Jerry Dean Michael) who briefly gained notoriety in the 70s when she launched production of a three-wheeled automobile (The Dale) and claimed that it could get 75 miles to the gallon. As this was during an energy crisis, and Carmichael also said it would retail for under two grand it became a media sensation. Nick Cammilleri and Zachary Drucker do a good job of laying out the entire saga and make it abundantly clear that Carmichael was a born huckster and con artist from the get go. That she was able to convince those around her that she still had a heart of gold is particularly fascinating. Her family, children and employees most often still speak fondly despite her life of crime. For the most part, the Doc moves along fairly well even with a total length approaching four hours. Unfortunately, the last couple of episodes spend too much time on trying to 'exonerate' her sins a bit too much, and also goes out of its way to may Los Angeles new reporter Dick Carlson into a villain (he does that well enough himself in contemporary interviews and old news footage). And, no matter how much Cammilleri and Drucker try to make Carmichael a Trans Heroine, the basic fact remains that she was a lifelong criminal who bilked people out of money and hurt, if not ruined, a number of lives. Lady And The Dale is an inherently gripping tale, but, a little less of a heavy hand would have only improved it.

The overuse of paper cut out animation to depict a potentially interesting story makes this show unwatchable. I can only assume this show's creators thought their story was not interesting enough so they resorted to a cartoonish, paper cutout graphic with rapid frame to keep your attention. I found it very annoying. 1 episode and done for me.

"The Lady and the Dale" (2021 release; 4 episodes of about 55 min. each) brings the unlikely, if not too good to be true, story of Liz Carmichael and her mid-70s three-wheeled car, simply called the Dale, which sells for peanuts and promises 70 MPG. In the opening episode, we get the background on the improbable rise of Liz CarMichael, just as we are dealing with the oil crisis and this country is crying out for an alternative car that is cheap and gas-efficient. Liz teams up with car designer Dale Cliff, and before you know it, they become the buzz of the car industry... At this point we re 10 min. into the opening episode.

Couple of comments: this series is the feature length/mini series-debut of directors Nicl Cammilleri and Zachary Drucker. Here they team up to bring us the life and times of Liz CarMichael, about as unlikely a star in the automotive industry as you will ever find. I am biting my tongue as the initial two episodes are facts-heavy and plot-heavy, so I want to make sure I am not spoling anyone's viewing experience. Let me just say that, from watching the initial two episodes, this is a rollicking and yes, super enjoyable, documentary tv mini-series. The less you know going in, the better. I will admit that I had never heard of Liz CarMichael or this concept car the Dale (probably because I moved from Belgium to the US only in 1983, after all of this played out).

"The Lady and the Dale" premiered this weekend on HBO with 2 of the 4 episodes. These 2 episodes are now available on HBO On Demand and other streaming services. Episodes 3 and 4 will premiere over the next 2 weekends. Can't wait to see how it all will play out. If you have any interest in a documentary that once again proves that facts are stranger than fiction, I'd readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.

*UPDATE 2/14/21* I just watched the last episode tonight on HBO. This was a wild ride all around. So much territory was covered, from the automotive industry to trans gender issues and much more in between. In all, a documentary series well worth seeking out.

Watching the promotional materials, it seems like this would be your standard true-crime documentary, though as the series progressed, it seems like that wasn't what the team behind this project wanted. The later episodes seemed to focus more about issues transgender individuals face in the criminal justice system, which I think would've made more sense at the beginning, and I get the sense that what they wanted to make the whole documentary about. It's an interesting subject, but it's not what I thought I was going to watch.

I don't think I've seen a true-crime documentary so uninterested in the actual crime.