I came to this film off a throwaway comment on a satirical podcast; the comment was that if you wanted to see how Trump approaches business, then watch Small Potatoes. With this motivation it did not occur to me that it may have mattered that I had never heard of the USFL, and that really my only interest in American Football at all is to occasionally watch the highlights of the Super Bowl.
In the end this did seem to make a massive difference, and I confess that part of the reason that I took very little from the film was that I was not target audience or even close; one could argue that a good documentary draws the viewer in, but I do not think that argument really applies here. As a result, I was mostly left cold – I had no knowledge of the characters, the situation, and the very limited involvement of Trump (in a truncated interview) meant that my only point of interest was not really key to the film. For sure people dislike him for what he did, and it certainly was a selfish act to benefit himself at the cost of others – but really is this all stuff we already know about him.
For those who remember the USFL, there is probably a good slice of history here, presented at brisk pace with plenty of highlights; however, for those just coming with the very limited interest I had, there is not enough here for the casual viewer. Not really the fault of the film, but something worth keeping in mind if considering watching it.
In the end this did seem to make a massive difference, and I confess that part of the reason that I took very little from the film was that I was not target audience or even close; one could argue that a good documentary draws the viewer in, but I do not think that argument really applies here. As a result, I was mostly left cold – I had no knowledge of the characters, the situation, and the very limited involvement of Trump (in a truncated interview) meant that my only point of interest was not really key to the film. For sure people dislike him for what he did, and it certainly was a selfish act to benefit himself at the cost of others – but really is this all stuff we already know about him.
For those who remember the USFL, there is probably a good slice of history here, presented at brisk pace with plenty of highlights; however, for those just coming with the very limited interest I had, there is not enough here for the casual viewer. Not really the fault of the film, but something worth keeping in mind if considering watching it.