Le mirage de la Dale

Intriguing HBO documentary about a serial con man. Better than "McMillions".

Strange and fascinating four part Documentary about a transgender woman named Elizabeth Carmichael (nee Jerry Dean Michael) who briefly gained notoriety in the 70s when she launched production of a three-wheeled automobile (The Dale) and claimed that it could get 75 miles to the gallon. As this was during an energy crisis, and Carmichael also said it would retail for under two grand it became a media sensation. Nick Cammilleri and Zachary Drucker do a good job of laying out the entire saga and make it abundantly clear that Carmichael was a born huckster and con artist from the get go. That she was able to convince those around her that she still had a heart of gold is particularly fascinating. Her family, children and employees most often still speak fondly despite her life of crime. For the most part, the Doc moves along fairly well even with a total length approaching four hours. Unfortunately, the last couple of episodes spend too much time on trying to 'exonerate' her sins a bit too much, and also goes out of its way to may Los Angeles new reporter Dick Carlson into a villain (he does that well enough himself in contemporary interviews and old news footage). And, no matter how much Cammilleri and Drucker try to make Carmichael a Trans Heroine, the basic fact remains that she was a lifelong criminal who bilked people out of money and hurt, if not ruined, a number of lives. Lady And The Dale is an inherently gripping tale, but, a little less of a heavy hand would have only improved it.

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.

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.

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