Review of Harlan Ellison Documentary

The New York Times can normally counted on for quality, well-written reviews. Nathan Lee's contribution about Erik Nelson's Dreams With Sharp Teeth, a documentary about legendary hothead Harlan Ellison, falls considerably short of the paper's usual standards. To put it bluntly, the piece reads like a catalog description with no worthwhile commentary or insights.

Directed by Erik Nelson, “Dreams” recalls the career of a runty young geek who evolved into a world-famous artist — and ladies’ man, civil rights advocate and, from the look of his Xanadu-like Hollywood hideout (aptly nicknamed the Lost Aztec Temple of Mars), a fiercely committed collector and pack rat. Mr. Ellison’s written achievement largely takes second stage to his volcanic verbal attitude, of which there’s more than enough to overflow an entire outlandish mini-series.

The movie itaself may be high art or a piece of trash. Regrettably, there is no indication of either in Lee's tepid review.