Mansome by MPI HOME VIDEO

Actors

• Jason Bateman
• Will Arnett
• Zach Galifianakis

Format

• Color
• Dolby
• NTSC
• Widescreen

Editorial Review

What does it mean to be a man in the early part of the 21st century? Filmmaker Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me) sets off on an amiable, if purposefully superficial, documentary journey to answer that question. Along for the ride are actors Jason Bateman and Will Arnett, who act as a sort of Greek chorus as they get spa treatments and ponder aloud about such topics as “manscaping.” Spurlock himself also appears on camera, during the long segment on facial hair, in which he talks about how much his own look has been defined by his thin, long mustache. The segments in Mansome are interesting, even as some are a bit off-putting. Probably the person most viewers will come away thinking about most is Jack Passion, a young American who competes in national and international “beardsmanship” competitions. The long segment on Passion is perhaps a more interesting psychological profile than a comment on masculinity in general, however. Passion is articulate about why he grows his wavy red beard below his beltline: “Because this is the mark of a man. I have short hair like I did when I was a boy, but this”–his beard–“is about being a man.” Yet the cameras also capture Passion's spare little apartment and single bed, and one wonders if Passion may not want to consider expanding his definition about being a man to include more activities, such as, say, finding a girlfriend. Still, Spurlock's focus in Mansome is intended to be skin deep, and in that it succeeds. What does it really mean that men have focused more on their looks and extreme grooming? There are no universal answers, but the topic is fascinating. —A.T. Hurley