I AM THOR: An Exercise In Chasing Stardom

Documentary filmmaking is an interesting thing: while an actor in a fiction film can (though certainly doesn’t necessarily) excise their own personal ego and inhabit a role entirely separate from themselves, the documentary subject does not have this luxury. In fact, for the subject of a documentary to be successful it takes precisely the opposite skill; to be fully present in oneself, perpetuating the most “you” version of you possible.

Couple that with the fact that the subject and documentarian often have slightly different ideas about how they are to be portrayed and what the finished film will be about, not to mention the murky waters that lie between “friend” and “subject”, and you have a tricky balancing act that takes no small amount of skill to pull off.

I Am Thor largely succeeds in bringing to light the extraordinary life and career of Jon Mikl Thor, a legend in bodybuilding and the underground metal scene. Inspired by boomer-era ephemera like The Beatles on Ed Sullivan and muscle magazines, Jon saw an opportunity for himself to become the next big thing in rock. After a few false starts, Jon formed the band Thor. With an act that read like a cross between vaudeville and a proto-GWAR, consisting of feats of strength and lots of skin, Thor seemed poised to join the ranks of KISS and Alice Cooper as a god of theatrical rock in the 70s, but for one reason or another his final ascent to super-stardom continually fell through.

The film, directed by seasoned television director but first-time documentarian Ryan Wise, catches up with Thor in 2001 as he is mounting his comeback, and traces that effort through the next 13 years.

Too Quick to Move On

Before coming to metal, Jon Thor was a sort of show business dilettante, finding the spotlight in different realms before it inevitably shined its glow elsewhere. Whether being one-upped in naked dinner theater, playing space-Elvis in Las Vegas (a show of which I am now desperate to find footage), being outright kidnapped by management, or getting booted off a Hollywood production in the role he was born to play, his first forays into show business were always punctuated by mainstream acceptance just escaping his grasp. This period lasts two decades, but is largely glossed over, seemingly because there is so much to tell but still so much yet to at which to arrive.

The film itself is pretty standard-issue rock doc fare, combining talking heads, archival materials and on-the-scene footage to tell its story. Wise achieves this mix competently, with the edited together archival material shining the brightest. It is thus a small shame that a little more time wasn’t spend fleshing out those early highs and lows, as not only is it captivating subject matter, but it also provides the backdrop against which the viewer could have more fully appreciate Thor’s ascendant comeback that is the focus of the later two thirds of the film. In life it is probably for the best to let the past be the past and to focus on the now, but in the film more attention spent of the downfall of Thor would have made his phoenix rising all the more sweet.

That being said, seeing Jon and his bandmates achieve some measure of success after being continually put down or put off in one way or the other throughout the film does feel like righteous vindication. It doesn’t always seem that it will go this way, as in one scene when drummer Mike Favata approaches a group of people waiting for the festival gates to open, and is summarily ignored by the unamused concert goers.

Just minutes later in the film, presumably those same kids are part of a capacity crowd fueling the band’s performance and solidifying their comeback. Like Anvil  before them, Thor finally finds acceptance in Scandanavia, selling out record store signings and even headlining a festival devoted to his brand of muscle metal. It is absolutely a climax to be relished, but I Am Thor, somewhat like its subject, seems in a rush to get there, perhaps unsure if they will ever reach it due to all the preceded.

Conclusion

Many people have stories of near-glory, or maybe even a brief period of time where they achieved it only to be left in obscurity as someone else claimed it for another moment before the zeitgeist began anew. For people with a certain set of values, it can seem like those times were halcyon days and they might forever feel compelled to reclaim them anew. I am not entirely sure how accurately this description applies to Jon Mikl Thor, as his drive for fame and professional recognition seem almost equaled by his creative impulse; it appears that he truly has a need to go out there and perform.

I Am Thor is clearly is at the behest of its subject, for it is his story and participation that give it light. Jon Thor, as stated by his friends in the film, is an extremely affable guy and it would be damn near impossible not to succumb to his charming nature. But in doing so, I believe the filmmakers did their subject and film a disservice.

By letting Jon take the lead and focusing the film where his personal focus lay, on the comeback, I Am Thor does begin to feel a little less like a documentary and more like a publicity film. It was a production lasting over a decade, and it would be impossible not to form some kind of strong bond, but had a little more distance been maintained, I Am Thor likely would have achieved a more honest account of the ascent of Jon. It is a perfectly fine film, but one that is ultimately outshined by its subject, which I assume is just what he intended.

How much control do you think a documentary subject should have over the films in which they appear?

I Am Thor is now available on DVD/Blu-Ray as well as major VOD platforms. I also spoke with Jon Thor, and the interview will appear next week.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_GLMsHUrOQ