During the eighties and early nineties Mike Tyson was huge athlete. As a boxer he seemed unbeatable and each fight was an event nobody wanted to miss and everybody was talking about. Fights could be decided within the first round and Tyson was a monstrous force within the ring.
Unfortunately outside the ring that monster came out as well and resulted in controversy and even jail time. He made hundreds of millions during his career (not only through boxing but also through his endorsement deals with Pepsi, Toyota, Kodak, Bank of America and many others), but had to file for bankruptcy in 2003. He had retired from boxing, but showed he still had a fighter’s spirit and has since written books, appeared in TV shows, documentaries and movies. He is currently touring with his one-man show and director Spike Lee captured it when he performed in Brooklyn.
As this movie captures a stage performance there is only so much Spike Lee is able to do. As Tyson is telling his life story there is a slide show consisting of both pictures and moving images being shown. Some of that footage has been shot by Lee, mostly consisting of places around New York. Working with several cameras it is effectively edited but of course this is not the reason you want to watch this. You want to watch this because of Tyson’s story.
Several years there was a documentary on Tyson where he already laid bare a lot of his issues. It was a serious documentary. This show however is all about entertainment. With his appearance in The Hangover Tyson has already shown that he can be funny and that’s what he displays here as well. During the show he touches upon important moments in his life: growing up robbing people, meeting Cus D’Amato, his marriage with Robin Givens and many more. He is brutally honest, but does so in a very entertaining way, telling interesting anecdotes and entertaining his audience.
I saw this last week. It was really good and Mike is a truly amazing presence. I love the story about his brawl with Mitch Green and his reaction to the infamous Barbara Walters interview he did with Robin. She’s a gold-digger and now, a cold fart.
Yeah, I know he is visiting here next year and although it intrigued me I was not planning on going because the price was quite high. Happy to have seen it this way which probably makes it more exciting than actually being there. His stories were great and very funny. Yeah, have not hear anything about Robin for years.
I would totally watch this. In fact, I need to add it to my list. Thanks for sharing this one with us, Nostra!
Cool Jaina, it’s a very entertaining watch.