All Man: The International Male Story

Men who saw the International Male catalog during their formative years will enjoy this documentary about the birth and growth of the over-the-top (and below the waist) clothing company. Those who are too young to remember International Male may have a difficult time believing it existed.

Two first-time filmmakers interviewed the founder of International Male (just in time) as well as many of the models and former employees. I would love to know the backstory of how this film was made.

This very light topic does not warrant a lot of screen time. Clocking in at nearly and hour and a half, I was ready for it to wrap up long before it did. The best parts were when the folks who were there were allowed to tell their stories, often to the B-roll of excellent vintage photos. Unfortunately, the filmmakers fell into the trap of adding contemporary and (sort of) well-known people, to try to make the movie seem current or something. This was not needed and the movie drags each time it takes us away from the catalogs and model shoots to folks like Carson Kressley (the most obnoxious cast member from "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" which seems more dated now than International Male) and social media "influencers."

I get the impression that the filmmakers took their subject a little too seriously. It's too bad, because with stricter editing, this could be a "must see" film for its target audience.