The Lady and the Dale

A fascinatingly layered story about con artist and idiosyncratic maverick Liz Carmichael. Although, it's not about her - it's about the miracle three-wheel car that could've saved America. Although, it's not about that either - it's about the insidious treatment of trans women by the rapacious American press and how that dark prejudice still runs through the cultural discourse today. All that and it also serves as a sort of US postwar narrative about poverty, crime and the strange benefits and brutal truths of a life lived off the grid.

It's a solid documentary series with some excellent interviews but the distinctive cutout animation used throughout is a real double-edged sword, it's a creative method of delivering the narrative but it's often incredibly awkward and terribly ugly like a mixture of Angela Anaconda and the terrifying "living world" segment of Grim Fandango. Not so bad during the more silly segments, but when it's trying to be more dramatic or emotional it feels horribly stiff.

Ultimately it's a distinct and compelling portrait of a life, told with narrative flair and variable animation. Definitely worth a watch and although as stated, Carmichael is no role model, she was a charismatic personality and her story will stay with me long after the janky cut-out flailings leave my mind.

"The Lady and the Dale" (2021 release; 4 episodes of about 55 min. each) brings the unlikely, if not too good to be true, story of Liz Carmichael and her mid-70s three-wheeled car, simply called the Dale, which sells for peanuts and promises 70 MPG. In the opening episode, we get the background on the improbable rise of Liz CarMichael, just as we are dealing with the oil crisis and this country is crying out for an alternative car that is cheap and gas-efficient. Liz teams up with car designer Dale Cliff, and before you know it, they become the buzz of the car industry... At this point we re 10 min. into the opening episode.

Couple of comments: this series is the feature length/mini series-debut of directors Nicl Cammilleri and Zachary Drucker. Here they team up to bring us the life and times of Liz CarMichael, about as unlikely a star in the automotive industry as you will ever find. I am biting my tongue as the initial two episodes are facts-heavy and plot-heavy, so I want to make sure I am not spoling anyone's viewing experience. Let me just say that, from watching the initial two episodes, this is a rollicking and yes, super enjoyable, documentary tv mini-series. The less you know going in, the better. I will admit that I had never heard of Liz CarMichael or this concept car the Dale (probably because I moved from Belgium to the US only in 1983, after all of this played out).

"The Lady and the Dale" premiered this weekend on HBO with 2 of the 4 episodes. These 2 episodes are now available on HBO On Demand and other streaming services. Episodes 3 and 4 will premiere over the next 2 weekends. Can't wait to see how it all will play out. If you have any interest in a documentary that once again proves that facts are stranger than fiction, I'd readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.

*UPDATE 2/14/21* I just watched the last episode tonight on HBO. This was a wild ride all around. So much territory was covered, from the automotive industry to trans gender issues and much more in between. In all, a documentary series well worth seeking out.

I loved the way this was presented. Much more fun to watch than actors trying to portray famous people. An interesting story that I was surprised I never heard of before.

The overuse of paper cut out animation to depict a potentially interesting story makes this show unwatchable. I can only assume this show's creators thought their story was not interesting enough so they resorted to a cartoonish, paper cutout graphic with rapid frame to keep your attention. I found it very annoying. 1 episode and done for me.

Fascinating story with plentiful plot twists. It's crazy that it's taken this long for the story to be told.