Corey Feldman vs. the World
Corey Feldman (Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV, Meatballs 4) is no stranger to reality television with his appearance on VH1’s The Surreal Life resulting in The Two Coreys, a quasi-spinoff running for two seasons pairing him with his friend and co-star Corey Haim (Lucas, Crank 2: High Voltage). In the feature documentary Corey Feldman vs. the World, director Marcie Hume (Hood to Coast, Sex Story: Fifty Shades of Grey) follows Corey and his all-women band Corey’s Angels during their 2017 tour Corey’s Heavenly Tour: Angelic 2 the US. If you like to see Corey put his metaphorical foot in his mouth repeatedly, this is the docu for you!
Shot in a casual style that focuses on the subject and documentarian (rarely, you can hear Marcie offscreen asking questions), Corey Feldman vs. the World quickly sets up Corey’s 1980s fame before transitioning his current pivot to his music career. What we get is a real fly on the wall approach to how many foibles unfurl (girls leaving the group, the tour bus’ air-conditioning breaking down) and, more importantly, how Corey reacts to things not going accord to his exacting plans. Whether he’s talking to stage managers or his own wife at the time (Courtney Anne Mitchell, who also plays in the band), Corey’s temper and frustrations at just about anything not going his way are on full display here. At one point, Corey responds to former Corey’s Angel Margot Lane’s posting of her contract by saying, “Let’s hire a lawyer! We know they’re Satanists…”
What truly sets this documentary apart from the pack is the latter half, which often centers on how many of the band members feel mistreated (some are prevented from leaving the bus to get showers in a hotel despite their contract having a cleanliness clause!) and, inevitably, leave the group. Especially telling is Corey’s habits of blaming negativity on dark power and dark media sabotage. His interview with Matt Lauer doesn’t go so smooth with Corey pushing back on attempts to cough up Charlie Sheen’s (All Dogs Go To Heaven 2, The Three Musketeers) name on air in connection with a rape allegation involving the late Corey Haim. Corey’s reaction in the green room afterwards is one of petulance instead of being grateful for having such a big platform to promote his $10 million feature on Hollywood child abuse; the feature never ended up getting made, but a documentary, My Truth: The Rape of Two Coreys, did.
A sometimes humorous and often disturbing look at a frustrated actor-turned-musician, Marcie Hume’s Corey Feldman vs. the World has more than enough interesting segments for viewers to chew on. If this had come out in the 1990s, one could easily imagine an extended version of this film being adapted into a reality TV series along the lines of Hugh Hefner’s The Girls Next Door.
Corey Feldman vs. the World is now available for rent and purchase digitally on YouTube and Apple TV.