this guy's a PR genius with his own agenda. Provided a great insight into how eager the media can be for a good story. Will use it for personal gain.

This was a great film. I wish there were moe people in the world that do what Abel does he is a genius!!

This movie is uproariously amusing, and had me rocking back and forth with laughter on occasion. The glimpses into his personal life lagged compared to the parts highlighting his career, but that was to be expected. For example, his daughter getting 'teased' about her father's job was nearly forgettable compared to when she and Abel went on TV trying to market a human hair diet. Parts about his personal life didn't seem to shed light on his professional life in an entertaining fashion, though it did dispel assumptions that he's a freak at home. Once that was established in the first 10 minutes of the film, returning to this didn't add very much to the insight or entertainment value. Despite the lulls, anyone interested in modern hoaxers like Sasha Baron Cohen, Andy Kaufman, or the 'Yes-Men' should be interested in this movie. It's very watchable, and gives a LOT of insight into how permeable old media was to factual error. Conversely, we get many hints that today's media has more fact-checking standards and information tools, making it nearly impossible to get a hoax on legit news programs. That is probably why Abel did more daytime talk shows as the years went on, since those don't care as much about fact-checking.The film's end is what I wonder about. He says that his craft has a positive agenda, and that he injects a little levity into peoples' lives, which are inundated with news stories of axe murders galore. However, his own daughter unwittingly rebutted this point with a quote. She said that hoaxing gets its laughs at the world's expense...which is true. It can waste reporters' valuable and billable hours, and frankly mixes right in with other actually-true stories. In other words, the hoaxes are taken as real, and if not, as merely good material...certainly not as 'a lesson learned.' [For a modern example, see the Yes-Men DowJones Hoax].As with graffiti, its victims see it as desecrating or marketable, and about 1% come away from it with positive lessons. That is why we see so few 'follow-ups' of hoaxer victim interviews. And that is the problem if your agenda is to hoax people the 'right way.' If your agenda is to stir things up and MAYBE enlighten 1% of your audience, fine, but Abel is not exactly Mr. Rogers with a healthy dose of mischief, if that is his mission.Watch this and laugh, but don't expect to learn more than the fact that it was EASY to hoax 30 years ago.

This documentary is about an actor and publicist who dupes people into believing his crazy personas in outrageous interviews and stunts. His work is similar to that of Shacha Baron Cohen (Borat and Bruno). In fact he did it over 50 years before Cohen. However, unlike Cohen, he attempts to promote positive social agendas with his stunts. This documentary is fun. In several instances it even has a an aspect of fooling it's audience… like Abel fooled the media for years. Abel is an ordinary person, who did something many of wish we would. If you like practical jokes, pranks, or even scams this is a really enjoyable watch.