Writer/director Marcie Hume and producer Jim Cummings to bring us Corey Feldman vs. the World, a documentary following the titular actor and musician through a full year of his life. According to legend, the film began with a very cooperative Corey Feldman. But at some point, Feldman withdrew his involvement because the filmmakers used footage he claims was obtained through dishonest means without his authorization. He further claims that the film was edited in a way to purposely mischaracterize words and situations. So I guess we could call this an authorized and unauthorized biography of Corey Feldman.
In 2016, Hume began filming as Feldman was putting together “Corey Feldman and The Angels,” featuring himself on vocals with an all-female backing band clad in full angel outfits. Feldman created this band to tour in support of his new album, “Angelic 2 The Core.” Hume and his production team follow Feldman as he assembles the band, which goes through multiple lineup changes, featuring arguments and dilemmas of the type that you would fully expect to have with musicians who aren’t used to touring and the pitfalls that come with it. I mean, seriously, who wants to be stuck in a bus for weeks at a time with no idea when their next shower opportunity will be?
As a musician myself, I can identify with a lot of what happens in Corey Feldman vs. the World. Finding and working with people with whom you get along and who can play their instruments well can lead to disaster with very little outside antagonism. I actually empathize with much of what we see here, which is presented in a way that could make Feldman look bad. As an outside example, a friend of mine has a very famous musician for a brother. He once said, “I see these people saying that my brother’s an a*****e, but, after meeting the people that say that, I can understand why he would be an a*****e to them.” There are definitely multiple people in this film who could fall into that category. Mind you, that doesn’t mean the subject is always in the right or acting reasonable, but sometimes, people just have it coming to them.
“…following the titular actor and musician through a full year of his life.”
Hume covers a lot in the 90-minute runtime, beyond the band’s formation and the tour. Feldman’s wedding gets the spotlight. And the unavoidable — the abuse that happened to him and Corey Haim — is, of course, brought into the discussion. The film Feldman made to reveal the abuse is also looked at. Plus, a lot of interpersonal relationship drama between almost everybody is observed. We get to find out at least just a bit of what it’s like to be former child star Corey Feldman as an actor and a musician.
One thing that does seem a bit unfair is including interviews with people bashing Feldman without also giving him the spotlight to respond to the claims. Unfortunately, though, that’s not uncommon in documentaries, so as they say, “It is what it is.”
I wasn’t sure how I was going to end this review until I stumbled across a Reddit AMA with Marcie Hume answering questions about Corey Feldman vs. the World. The filmmaker answers in the most beautiful way possible, leaving us all with a great feeling about the future:
Fan: “Did Cory win? Or did the world?”
Hume: “The world can’t beat someone who won’t quit.”
"…covers a lot in the 90-minute runtime..."
