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Inmate # 1: The Rise of Danny Trejo
We all know that face. We all have a favorite movie we saw him in. We look at that world-weary face and we know this is a guy who has lived, but I had no idea the kind of living this guy did until I had the privilege of watching a 2019 documentary called Inmate # 1: The Rise of Danny Trejo, which doesn't employ a lot of imagination in presentation, but the subject is so fascinating we just don't care.
The film begins with a look at Danny's turbulent childhood in the San Fernando Valley with Danny driving a 1956 Chevrolet Bel-Air around his old neighborhood and pointing out all the significant landmarks from his childhood. We learn of his troubled relationship with his father, which stemmed from his hero worship of his Uncle Gilbert, a career criminal whose whose power and influence over Danny eventually landed him in San Quentin.
Admit it...the first time you laid your eyes on Danny Trejo, one of the first things that went through your mind is "I know that guy did time", but what I didn't expect was the gut-wrenching honesty that Trejo employs talking about his life as a criminal, alcoholic, and drug addict. Trejo doesn't sugar coat or glamorize anything, and yet somehow still manages to have a sense of humor about it now. Danny Trejo is one of the few people I've seen who is totally honest about the mistakes he's made, but has also learned from them. This was one of the few celebrity documentaries I've seen where I never felt the star was holding back anything...he pulls all the skeletons out of the closet and hurls them directly at the camera.
In a refreshing change of pace, the film actually got a little less interesting when it moves into his film career, starting with his completely accidental stumbling onto the set of Runaway Train, his film debut. Loved the actual giddiness he felt when he learned he had been cast in Heat with De Niro, Pacino, Voight, and Val Kilmer. Loved a piece of advice that he was given when he first started making movies: "Danny you can't be the tough guy in Hollywood...you have to act like a tough guy." I loved when his sister knew Danny was going to make it when she saw one of his movies and he was alive at the end. And I have definitely added Machete to my watchlist.
Commentary is offered by actors Donal Logue, Cheech Marin, Michelle Rodrigues, director Robert Rodriguez, and his three children Danny Jr, Gilbert, and Danielle. I've never seen celebrity kids talk about their famous father with the love and respect that these three did. It was so sweet when Danielle confessed to being uncomfortable about the first time she saw Dad die onscreen. I was also impressed with the fact that Danny still lives the AA program and makes regular visits to schools and prisons. It's this part of the film that gets a little pretentious, but it's so unnecessary, because the last adjective that comes to mind when watching Danny Trejo is pretentious, which is what made this film such a joyous experience.
We all know that face. We all have a favorite movie we saw him in. We look at that world-weary face and we know this is a guy who has lived, but I had no idea the kind of living this guy did until I had the privilege of watching a 2019 documentary called Inmate # 1: The Rise of Danny Trejo, which doesn't employ a lot of imagination in presentation, but the subject is so fascinating we just don't care.
The film begins with a look at Danny's turbulent childhood in the San Fernando Valley with Danny driving a 1956 Chevrolet Bel-Air around his old neighborhood and pointing out all the significant landmarks from his childhood. We learn of his troubled relationship with his father, which stemmed from his hero worship of his Uncle Gilbert, a career criminal whose whose power and influence over Danny eventually landed him in San Quentin.
Admit it...the first time you laid your eyes on Danny Trejo, one of the first things that went through your mind is "I know that guy did time", but what I didn't expect was the gut-wrenching honesty that Trejo employs talking about his life as a criminal, alcoholic, and drug addict. Trejo doesn't sugar coat or glamorize anything, and yet somehow still manages to have a sense of humor about it now. Danny Trejo is one of the few people I've seen who is totally honest about the mistakes he's made, but has also learned from them. This was one of the few celebrity documentaries I've seen where I never felt the star was holding back anything...he pulls all the skeletons out of the closet and hurls them directly at the camera.
In a refreshing change of pace, the film actually got a little less interesting when it moves into his film career, starting with his completely accidental stumbling onto the set of Runaway Train, his film debut. Loved the actual giddiness he felt when he learned he had been cast in Heat with De Niro, Pacino, Voight, and Val Kilmer. Loved a piece of advice that he was given when he first started making movies: "Danny you can't be the tough guy in Hollywood...you have to act like a tough guy." I loved when his sister knew Danny was going to make it when she saw one of his movies and he was alive at the end. And I have definitely added Machete to my watchlist.
Commentary is offered by actors Donal Logue, Cheech Marin, Michelle Rodrigues, director Robert Rodriguez, and his three children Danny Jr, Gilbert, and Danielle. I've never seen celebrity kids talk about their famous father with the love and respect that these three did. It was so sweet when Danielle confessed to being uncomfortable about the first time she saw Dad die onscreen. I was also impressed with the fact that Danny still lives the AA program and makes regular visits to schools and prisons. It's this part of the film that gets a little pretentious, but it's so unnecessary, because the last adjective that comes to mind when watching Danny Trejo is pretentious, which is what made this film such a joyous experience.