John Bronco is the latest mockumentary from Jake Szymanski, who gave us 2017’s Tour de Pharmacy and 2015’s 7 Days in Hell. This time out, he points his camera at the enigmatic character actor Walton Goggins. The man who has been everything from the explosive antagonist of Justified to a preacher who tangles with snakes in Them That Follow. Let’s not forget his turn in 2018’s Tomb Raider.
Now he portrays the titular character in a mockumentary that chronicles the life of one of the advertising world’s most “famous” pitchmen. Goggins’ John Bronco was a rodeo star who happened to be in the right place at the right time. The Baja 1000 is an off-roading race that tests the mettle of not only those behind the wheel of these cars that drive 1000 miles without a break for sleep but the automobiles themselves. When Ford was rolling out their new truck/utility vehicle, they didn’t know what to call it and didn’t have a driver to get behind the wheel for the iconic race. Bronco was asked if he would drive Ford’s newest addition and wouldn’t you know it… he said “yes” and he won the race.
Lucky for Ford, their Baja 1000 driver had a name that couldn’t have fit a vehicle of that type more impeccably. Thus, the Ford Bronco was born, and its pitchman was more than ready to saddle up and pitch that puppy profusely.
Those early Bronco commercials with Goggins’ Bronco are priceless. They are humorous, yes, but they also firmly exist in this world that Szymanski has created. The veteran actor proved he was game for this hilarious, tongue-in-cheek look at the automobile world, the advertising landscape and the loved today and gone tomorrow world of pop culture. He seamlessly and seemingly effortlessly embodies John Bronco in such a way that one begins to believe that this cat truly existed!
The crux of the documentary is the life of Bronco and how that intertwined with the Ford motor company, but also the landslide of opportunities that it afforded the man who was as well known as the Marlboro man. He dated Bo Derek during her heyday. Remember that famous scene in 10 where she is running down the beach with that beige swimsuit that has become iconic? Turns out that Bronco was just behind her so that when Blake Edwards called “cut,” he was right there.
As his fame increases, the pressure of life in the spotlight takes its toll. When Ford decided to discontinue the car that bears his name, he was one of the last people told. That scene, in particular, showcases the extent of Goggins’ stellar talent. Only he could have culled the emotive power of the audience in such a way that we felt complete and utter pity for a fictional pitchman from decades prior when the rug gets pulled from underneath him.
It is at this point that the doc becomes about “where is John Bronco.” The legendary truck’s namesake literally disappeared at the event that made him famous, the Baja 1000. After learning that the vehicle would be made no more, he vanished. The world hadn’t heard a peep out of him since. Here, Szymanski loses a bit of the narrative momentum that had driven the enjoyable short film up until this point. But, not to fret, it is captured through the most fascinating of ways—no details here, spoilers! Let’s just say that there are now two films this year that had a blast involving the people of Iceland and their untraditional pop culture loves and passions. Of course, the first was Eurovision Song Contest and now John Bronco. Who knew that their adoration of the European singing competition was as strong as their adoration for a certain pitchman?
Between the talking heads that Szymanski has gathered for his mockumentary (including Derek!), the “footage” of early models of the Ford Bronco and Goggins in too-short shorts pitching their car, and the innate knowledge that most movie viewers possess of the fleeting essence of fame in the real world, the filmmaker has put together another enjoyable and mostly hilarious short film that should put a smile on audiences’ collective faces.
Look for John Bronco on Hulu.
Grade: B