Viewed in
2009
Premise
Part of ESPN's 30 for 30, a documentary about the rise and fall of American football commentator/celebrity Jimmy 'the Greek' Snyder.
Who should watch
Fans of sports gambling?
Thoughts
While it was an interesting education for me, I thought it was executed poorly.
Jimmy the Greek was before my time, so I learned a lot about his life, as well as the sports/football television culture in the late 1970's and early 1980's. Naturally, I also understood his impact on sports gambling.
The interviews were quite in-depth, showing the many shades of this charismatic man. Also, the footage was plentiful to help explain his personality and life.
My problem with this documentary was the lack of clarity in story-telling and credibility. First, I got dizzy from all the time-jumping in The Greek's career.
More importantly, they tried to have The Greek himself speak for himself, 13 years after his death, by doing voice-overs from his point of view. Personally, I had trouble accepting this, because the director did not explain if his 'statements' were extracted from a biography of some sort, or if it was interpreted.
While this educated me about Jimmy the Greek and his role in sports betting and 'The NFL Today' television show, I wish it was a bit more straightforward in the presentation.
What I would change
Replaced the phony shots of a Jimmy the Greek stand-in re-enacting him smoking on the streets etc with just regular photos. Unless you know your subject in-and-out, I have trouble with accepting the objectivity and credibility of any re-enactment in a documentary.
