Hugh Hefner: Playboy, Activist and Rebel Review
By David Kempler
Hef, Hef, Hooray
I've got to tell you right up front that I'm an enormous fan of Hugh Hefner. Okay, okay, yes I envy the life he has carved out for himself on a purely carnal level, but I also have come to realize what an enormous positive impact he has had on American culture. Those of you gagging in regards to my opinions of Hef are forgiven because either you don't know the whole story or you're someone that I would never get along with anyway.
In "Hugh Hefner: Playboy, Activist and Rebel," Academy Award-winning director Brigitte Berman presents us with a view inside Hef's life and legacy. He gave her access to reams and reams of archives that show his life in a way that many could not have imagined. I was already aware of some of the material but was caught off-guard about a lot of the information.
The grand old man of American nudity is still going strong at the age of 83. Even though adult entertainment has flown way past him in terms of what we think of as morality, his name and the word "playboy" have become synonymous. When you think of him, you think pipe, smoking jacket and lots of naked, beautiful young women. What Berman's documentary explains to the unknowing is that his impact was also immeasurable in terms of integration, politics, jazz, first amendment rights and in countless other areas.
The instances of Hef's impact on our society are too numerous to mention here but even his harshest critics must admit that he has influenced us in so many ways that it's a testament to the stark contrast of his public persona as peddler of porn. There is a long line of famous folks on-screen, appearing on his television show and/or commenting on Mr. Hefner's life and his influence on them. They include an interesting cross-section of Americana: Dizzy Gillespie, Sammy Davis Jr., Dr. Ruth Westheimer, Pat Boone, Lenny Bruce, Dalton Trumbo, Jim Brown, Joan Baez, Tony Bennett, James Caan, Dick Cavett, Tony Curtis, Dick Gregory, Jesse Jackson, George Lucas, Bill Maher, Pete Seeger, Mike Wallace, and more.
When America was segregating black men and women, Hef was having them as guests on his TV show. When writers couldn't get work because of McCarthyism, Hef allowed them to write for him. Yeah, I'm biased about Hef; I'm an admirer. But Ms. Berman is a fine director and she has put together a nice pocket companion to Hef's life and work. Even Hef's harshest critics will be hard-pressed to deny that if there had been no Hef, America would be a much different place today, but they might easily prefer the America that used to be before Hugh Hefner opened for business in 1953. In either case, Ms. Berman has done very nice work in presenting her case. It's up to you decide whether we are better or worse for Mr. Hefner having appeared on our landscape. But you should see the movie and then decide.
