Porn Star: The Legend of Ron Jeremy (2001) from Johnny Web (Uncle Scoopy; Greg Wroblewski)
Is there any American male who doesn't recognize Ron Jeremy's face? Short, hirsute, homely, and perpetually unkempt, Jeremy is the world's unlikeliest porn star, a man whose popularity is attributable, in his own words, to the fact that he gives men hope than anyone can get laid.

Jeremy is also a nice guy: insecure, constantly craving for attention, relentlessly self-promoting, and a bit nutty, but nice nonetheless. One can see clearly that he's down to earth, patient with his fans, invariably polite and enthusiastic, and always in an up mood.

He has a master's degree. His dad is a physicist. His mom worked for the OSS (the predecessor to the CIA). How did he end up in porn? He wants to perform. He wanted to be an actor, and he wanted to be famous. Anybody who has known the high of performing - anyone who craves that high, and has achieved it when everything goes right, knows exactly how he feels. Porn was there as an opportunity. He has a ten inch manhood, and in his younger days he was so flexible that he could lick his own penis. So he fulfilled his desire for the limelight in that way. The people who have worked with him say that the sex and the women aren't really important to him. He just likes being a celebrity. Wherever he goes, he hawks his t-shirts and posters, not for the money, but because he is extending his fame. His greatest pain is not to be recognized.

Jeremy's current dream is to make real movies. He's been in 40, and has been cut out of a few more. It is well known that he will go anywhere and do anything to be in mainstream movies. He flew to Paris to play a non-speaking part in Killing Zoe. He doesn't have a lot of acting talent, and he obviously isn't much in the looks department, but he always knows his lines, never misses his mark, and is such a nice guy that people bond with him, sense how needy he is, and try to help him. Trey Parker used Jeremy quite extensively and effectively in Orgasmo, but Jeremy basically played himself in that film about the porn industry. Apart form that, Jeremy has been in "third security guard" and "guy killed at desk" roles.
In his life he's never really had a solid long-term relationship with a woman. He's still doing porn (although 48 and considerably overweight), and acting in as many movies as he can get. When he has no screen work, he attends functions as an emcee or guest, goes to parties, appears on Conan, tells jokes on the strip circuit, and generally does anything to stay in the limelight. He travels continually. With such a life, he could not have a relationship. He is quick to admit that he can't stand to be alone, and he has nobody to go home to, so his life consists of his parties, his functions, and his fans. They are his surrogate family, and his defense against loneliness.

Jeremy is so insecure that he was hiding in the next room when one of his friends was being interviewed. He couldn't bear not to know everything she would say.

NUDITY REPORT

Ron Jeremy is naked, including frontals with an erection.

There is a great deal of anonymous female nudity, no explicit hardcore. Tanya Lawson, Jeremy's ex-girlfriend, is identified by name.

DVD info from Amazon

  • Commentary by Ron Jeremy and director Scott J. Gill

  • Deleted scenes

  • Ron's filmography and pornography

  • Cast and crew biographies

  • Full-screen format
The documentarian interviews Al Goldstein, Larry Flynt, Grandpa Munster, and a host of porn stars, all of whom feel comfortable enough to make fun of Jeremy in a very affectionate way. Jeremy is obviously a well-loved guy, and yet a guy who craves ever more love. He is, as one interviewee says "happy to be Ron Jeremy, but sad as well."

Fascinating film. The DVD is even better than the film itself, because the deleted scenes fill in some extra biographical info that I was curious about.

The Critics Vote

  • General USA consensus: about three stars. The major reviewers were not heard from.

The People Vote ...

 
The meaning of the IMDb score: 7.5 usually indicates a level of excellence equivalent to about three and a half stars from the critics. 6.0 usually indicates lukewarm watchability, comparable to approximately two and a half stars from the critics. The fives are generally not worthwhile unless they are really your kind of material, equivalent to about a two star rating from the critics. Films rated below five are generally awful even if you like that kind of film - this score is roughly equivalent to one and a half stars from the critics or even less, depending on just how far below five the rating is.

My own guideline: A means the movie is so good it will appeal to you even if you hate the genre. B means the movie is not good enough to win you over if you hate the genre, but is good enough to do so if you have an open mind about this type of film. C means it will only appeal to genre addicts, and has no crossover appeal. (C+ means it has no crossover appeal, but will be considered excellent by genre fans, while C- indicates that it we found it to be a poor movie although genre addicts find it watchable). D means you'll hate it even if you like the genre. E means that you'll hate it even if you love the genre. F means that the film is not only unappealing across-the-board, but technically inept as well.

Any film rated C- or better is recommended for fans of that type of film. Any film rated B- or better is recommended for just about anyone. We don't score films below C- that often, because we like movies and we think that most of them have at least a solid niche audience. Now that you know that, you should have serious reservations about any movie below C-.

Based on this description, this film is a C+. A fascinating look at a real character. While it has no real depth, it is consistently engaging, and since it is only 80 minutes long, it's economical enough that you'll ignore any flaws it might have.

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