2nd Chance

This excellent film is primarily the biography of a very odd man who was a giant in the specialty business of designing, manufacturing, and promoting body armor for police and military forces.

But the film also deftly addresses the hubris of business management and promotion coupled with the vital importance of the products produced, which, if they work properly, save lives and which, if they don't, have deadly consequences.

The filmmaker treats his subjects with great respect and compassion while leaving no questions un-asked. The film is very funny in spots, given the oddball main character's deadpan responses and homemade promotional videos, and heartbreaking in others.

The tests of a great documentary, in my view, are whether the subject is consistently compelling, no matter how obscure, and whether I leave the theater with issues I believe have been minimized or ignored by the filmmakers, whether due to poor editing, poor preparation, lack of follow-up, bias, or cowardice

This film is both compelling and complete. Well done.

As "2nd Chance" (2022 release; 89 min) opens, we are introduced to Richard Davis, an oddball entrepreneur in upper Michigan who basically invested the modern-look bulletproof vest in the 1970s and as we still know it today. One of Davis' marketing tools were his homemade videos in which he pointed guns at himself and shot himself while wearing his body armor. But it isn't long before there is a darker side to this guy than just these bulletproof vests... At this point we are 10 minutes into the documentary.

Couple of comments: this is the latest from writer-producer-director Ramin Bahrani ("The White Tiger"). Set in 7 chapters and an epilogue, he exposes a slice of Americana that is rather strange. I mean, you can't make this stuff up! I'm not going to spoil your viewing experience in any way. I will just say this that this feels like a very Upper Michigan-centric story. In all, this documentary flew by in no time. As an aside, I've no idea why the film is called "2nd Chance", as Davis' company is clearly called "Second Chance", not "2nd Chance".

"2nd Chance" premiered in late '22. I stumbled on it on Showtime and streamed it just the other night. If you like a good documentary or are curious about this oddball entrepreneur, I'd readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.

I watched this because of RLM's Best of the Worst episode where they watched 2nd Chance vs. Magnum Force which proved that Richard was a compelling character. This documentary has many compelling characters, and expertly covered a complex topic. It gives me hope for humanity that men like Aaron are out there, willing to do the right thing, even when the personal cost is enormous. This is not a documentary about bullet proof vests, it's about the people who wear them, and the lives that they affect in far reaching ways. I would like to know Richard's thoughts after watching this film, although I'm afraid I can guess what they would be.