King of the Cruise

It's a sad story, but has some funny moments. It's got this existential feel because It's almost too real. I had to watch it in three sessions. I would give it a try for something different.

On first sight I thought this would be the sort of "mockumentary" that would deliver a monumental personality that everybody can hate and laugh at. I couldn't have been more wrong. After a few cringe/awkward moments, slowly Ronnie's personality starts to develop. And the picture that you get is of a person who is realizing his time on earth is coming to an end. He contemplates on life and by growing older also feels he's getting every day less visible. In an effort to get back a grip he starts telling this cleary exaggerated stories te any stranger who wants to listen. It's clear (even to him) that many people don't believe him, and if they believe him they only want to use him for their own benefit.

This man is a very lonely soul and clearly extremely narcistic. His social skills are sad to witness and he never really learned how to build friendships. He has a total lack of empathy and cannot listen to anyone else except himself. It would have been very easy to picture him in such a way he would only have been an asshole. But by portraying him in the way they did, you could feel empathy for this man, and in his own way there is a lot of suffering in his life. He was a victim of his own upbringing, that same upbringing he uses to be seen by people, but by doing this he's actually erasing his own chance to ever become a "real" person.

They take a fascinating subject and try to make him look like a buffoon. They portray cruising as a group of sad and lonely old people being bored. So much potential to make a great documentary but poorly executed.

This simultaneously convinced me that Ronnie has a terribly depressing life, and that I never want to go on a cruise. I pray that I never end up anything like that man.

Watching this movie is a lot like being on a cruise by yourself. It does capture an accurate picture of the typical sailing. Lots of old people on scooters. There are some laugh out loud moments, but you need to have been on a cruise to find them funny. Awkward banter from ship's staff, silly games etc. Everyone probably knows somebody like the Baron, or at least met one at a party. We end up feeling sorry for him, and I imagine he is a good person at heart. I would do my best to smile and laugh at his stories, but then look for any opportunity to escape. The film is just not very good and too long. About 30 minutes in I was looking to escape.