Porn Star: The Legend Of Ron Jeremy
Since ascending to John Holmes' vacated throne as the world's most famous male adult-film star, Ron Jeremy has become a ubiquitous figure in the world of lowbrow entertainment, a shameless ham whose presence in TV shows, B-movies, and music videos inevitably serves as a visual punchline. Part of Jeremy's fame is attributable to the unlikely nature of his porn stardom: Short, unattractive, Jewish, well-educated, solidly upper-class, smart, funny, responsible, and disease- and drug-free, Jeremy defies just about every stereotype about the self-destructive nature of porn professionals. But the other reason he's so ubiquitous is strictly by design. As his workaholic schedule attests, Jeremy is a wildly ambitious social climber on a relentless but perhaps doomed mission to win over the mainstream.
His battle for public acceptance continues with Porn Star, a fawning, slick, and unrevealing documentary that feels like the latest assault in a never-ending media blitz, a multi-pronged attack that includes such unlikely fronts as rapping and stand-up comedy. The directorial debut of editor Scott J. Gill, Porn Star charts Jeremy's unlikely rise from student teacher to porn superstar through interviews with porn-industry lifers, clips from his films, and footage of him making his surprisingly depressing daily rounds, paying particular attention to his attempts to escape the porn ghetto.
Along the way, countless stars, fans, and friends pay tribute to Jeremy's generosity, cocksmanship, oral prowess, professionalism, and immaculate sense of comic timing, stopping just short of hailing him as the Laurence Olivier of straight porn. Even Jeremy's weaknesses, such as his stinginess, over-eating, and obsessive need for attention, are treated as the lovable quirks of a harmless eccentric.
Considering the surreal nature of Jeremy's fame, it's oddly fitting that the two figures that emerge as Porn Star's gruff, skeptical voices of reason are Al "Grandpa Munster" Lewis (who adroitly critiques Jeremy's Rupert Pupkin-esque stand-up routine) and rodent-like pornographer Al Goldstein. After conceding that the star is indeed famous and entertaining, Goldstein barks, with characteristic bluntness, that Jeremy's ubiquity and careerism have also rendered him "fucking boring." That criticism is strangely applicable to Porn Star, as well.
—Nathan Rabin
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