Documentary Review: 'Dickweed' Debuts at SXSW 2024

Dickweed (2024)

Directed by Jonathan Ignatius Green

Written by Jonathan Ignatius Green

Starring Emily Pokora, Ronald Douglass, Greg Kriek, Rizzy Fuentes

Release Date March 9th, 2024 at SXSW Film Festival

Published March 9th, 2024

Dickweed is a rollercoaster of a true crime story that starts right at the biggest drop and keeps the twists and turns coming at a neck snapping pace. It's a jarring, fascinating and jaw dropping story that keeps you guessing from start to finish. And, it comes with the pleasure of knowing that no one died. Yeah, this is a true crime story in which there are no dead people. A crime is committed, it's a terrifying and life altering crime, but there is no death and that makes it all the more riveting as we are introduced to a villain with the dangerous aura of a killer, minus the actual body count.

In 2012, a weed dealer named Mike was chilling on his couch, dozing off. His girlfriend is asleep in the bedroom. Suddenly, Mike is awakened by a flashlight attached to a shotgun. He's beaten and bound. His girlfriend is bound and gagged. Both Mike and his girlfriend are bundled into a van by three masked men. On the way to being driven into the desert, Mike is interrogated about where the million dollars is. Mike, genuinely doesn't know what they are talking about. The three men are operating on the belief that Mike has a million dollars buried in the desert. Mike does not have any money buried in any desert.

This fact doesn't stop the masked men from beating Mike relentlessly while threatening harm toward his girlfriend. The two are then dumped in the desert and, having realized that Mike is telling the truth, there is no million dollars in the desert, the masked men decide to leave their two captives in the desert to fend for themselves. Oh, but there is one more horrifying detail. It's the reason for the title of this movie. An injury is inflicted upon Mike that threatens to end his life. If not for the quick thinking and the effort of his girlfriend, Dickweed would have a body count. Thankfully, she was able to get help in time. Though, what happened with Mike's horrific injury, you will need to see the documentary to find out.

That's how the documentary, Dickweed STARTS. That's just the beginning of a story that is brimming with misunderstandings and genuine nonsense, all captured through the lens of documentary filmmaker Jonathan Ignatius Green who smartly maintains a tone of amused awe throughout. You already cannot believe where we are in the story after the stunning start, and throughout Dickweed, you are left puzzled, amused, surprised and aghast. The best documentaries do this, they push your buttons and leave you guessing, Dickweed is one of those great documentaries.

That villain that I mentioned earlier? He's a piece of work. I am specifically not mentioning his name because you should see the documentary to learn about him. His part of this story takes the story from California to international locations, to the inside of a prison cell from which he will document is his own escape. This man has the most magnetic eyes you've ever seen, it's genuinely chilling to watch him stare straight into the camera during interview segments and blatantly lie, gaslight, and try to misdirect the story as it is unfolding. It's something you simply must see.

Dickweed is debuting on Saturday March 9th at SXSW.

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