User reviews

Love Pez who didn't when you was a kid but had no idea about this story. What a light hearted very entertaining re-production of this warming tale that not only stroked the chords for a plan of a master outlaw but also the importance of family at the end of it all.

The main character Steve is a quirky kook who is worth the documentary on its own. The angle of the documentary shows just how simple it was many moons ago to arbitrage the supply chain of global markets. Similar things happen today on such a smaller time scale online but back in the Wild West (in this case Eastern Europe to America) these opportunities, and greed of man would stay open a lot longer !

Sweet to the core, had to share the review just to express how much I rather enjoyed it.

Saw this great flick at the Milwaukee Film Fest opening night, and had a chance to meet the subject (and star) after the movie.

Great job dramatizing the events, with Steve playing himself as he took on Pez USA and the meanie leader "the Pezident." Thought-provoking and very well made, this movie was touching, amusing and ultimately very satisfying.

Strongly recommended.

The first part of the documentary is interesting as it introduces us about the Pez product and the main character. But as the story progress it just is not that interesting anymore. All the illegal tactics and little crimes to make some money in a greedy and weird way are shown as entrepreneural wonder. The main character has probably some issues and is a very self oriented person. It's funny he takes himself so serious. The second half of the documentary was boring so I watched it with 1.5x speed to see the end. The nostalgy elements in the film makes it watchable. And the fact that Steve acts a little crazy makes him fun. But it's not a story to be taken serious.

Watch it if you like entrepreneur stories, but don't expect a lot.

Perhaps, like me, you have only a small brush with PEZ from your youth. Being in my early 60's I fondly remember the PEZ candy dispenser as being the big point of interest as the candy was rather sweet but hardly memorable on its own. Is almost anything collectible? Some things more than others apparently and PEZ dispensers grew through years as collectible toys for a certain subset of folks. Enter one curmudgeon type of a OCD guy. One who battles his own inner demons of depression named Steve. Steve becomes infatuated with PEZ while becoming a burgeoning seller of dispensers at toy shows. This leads to something only a certain kind of OCD person might segue to. That is finding the real source of these things and that leads to Eastern Europe.

You see there is a disconnect between the European branch of PEZ and the U. S. branch. They are separate with the European PEZ founders controlling everything but the U. S. market. It might be said the U. S. company was lazy and content to just kind of exist modestly. They didn't bring in many new and exciting designs nixing most of the European's designs. Of course whenever something isn't available it becomes desirable and those Euro designs would fetch very high prices whenever the few were traded among collectors in the U. S.. While I wouldn't call Steve a Wharton Business School whiz I will give him credit for figuring out how to supply the collector's demand. I'd say he did it brilliantly as he was able to import through a loop-hole the U. S. PEZ company created themselves. Of course "Pezident" Scott of the U. S. PEZ company was irate. Battle lines would be drawn and not in the usual courtrooms where U. S. PEZ was hamstrung. Maybe a bit of international intrigue too?

This is a very well put-together documentary about a sublime little known tug-of-war between an individual and a corporation. The corporation's short sightedness and sheer greed made it lazy. It actually did not meet the market it sold its wares in literally opening up a cottage industry one man would come to dominate. In the end, the corporation does what corporations do: starve their competitors out of business through all possible manipulations. Even so PEZ USA has egg all over them and Steve comes out as a sort of hero standing up against long odds far longer than most folks could have. And he's left with this great story which is somewhat heartwarming even. From now on whenever I see a PEZ dispenser I'll think of Steve first and foremost. That's a win.

On the surface, the story of the Pez Outlaw is interesting at the very least but by no means life changing to the average viewer. The impressive thing to me, however, is that the documentarians took this story and absolutely turned it into a masterclass of creating an engaging documentary. The whole time I was completely engaged with the story by the sheer quality of storytelling that was taking place. Although the stakes were not high at all, I was worried about what would happen next to the protagonist Steve Glew. I laughed out loud multiple times and was mesmerized by the cinematography and stock footage.

As "The Pez Outlaw" (2022 release; 85 min) opens, we are introduced to Steve Glew, these days a farmer in Michigan. We then go back to "1991" when Glew, recognizing that collecting Pez dispensers was a real business opportunity, decides to travel to the Pez dispenser factory in Europe, in the hope of bringing back Pez dispensers that are not available in the US... At this point we are 10 minutes into the movie.

Couple of comments: this is the latest from co-directors Amy and Bryan Storkel (Alabama Snake"). There they bring us a human interest story about a nobody who is clever enough to assess a market opportunity, and then takes his chance, causing the ire (and more) of Pez USA all the way to the top (the "Pezident"). These events took place roughly 30 years ago, and it is amazing to me how unsophisticated a company like Pez USA went about its business. Along the way you can't help but root for the little guy, Steve Glew, as he outfoxes Pez USA. Just watch how it all ends... The film makers interview many of the people that were involved in these events, with a 30 year perspective of how it all went down (alas, not the Pezident).

"The Pez Outlaw" recently started streaming on Netflix, which recommended it to me based on my viewing habits. Wen I looked into it, I was astonished to find that "The Pez Outlaw" is currently rated 100% Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. I mean, it's enjoyable for sure, but this is a nice little human interest story, nothing more, nothing less. If you are in the mood for such a human interest story or you are a Pez dispenser collector yourself, I'd readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.

This is a fantastic documentary from beginning to end. Not only is it a compelling story, but heartwarming as well, and the visuals were absolutely terrific. Watching Steve concoct his plan, and then seeing him have the gumption to enact it, was a blast. He was a normal, everyday guy, and he turned himself into the lead character in his very own spy novel, just to figure out a way to make ends meet, and feed his family. This is a true gem of a movie, and I'm so glad the filmmakers brought us into this world of hilarious drama, with a touch of nostalgia, and Steve's very own brand of espionage (pezpionage?). Sit back and enjoy.

How good was it? Well, in over 10 years of watching documentaries on Netflix, this is the FIRST time ever that I purposely made the effort to find out how I could rate this and put in a review to highlight how good of a production and story this is, and I came to imdb to do it. To learn about this story was amazing. The mystery, the secrets, the adventure, the thrill, the business war, the whole part about the U. S. and International markets and bringing things over from overseas through customs, the new venture that you get so excited about... and the surprising outcome...wow, what an incredible story. You seriously have to watch this excellent documentary. I would love to see this again. Going to share it on social media now!

This guy is absolutely nuts and completely self-absorbed. To think you're going to steal or copy somebody's intellectual property and get away with it is absolutely bonkers. He deserved what he got. It was an interesting story but the subject of the story is less than appealing.

ABOUT MY REVIEWS:

I do not include a synopsis of the film/show -- you can get that anywhere and that does not constitute a meaningful review -- but rather my thoughts and feelings on the film that hopefully will be informative to you in deciding whether to invest 90-180 minutes of your life on it.

My scale: 1-5 decreasing degrees of "terrible", with 5 being "mediocre" 6- OK. Generally held my interest OR had reasonable cast and/or cinematography, might watch it again 7 - Good. My default rating for a movie I liked enough to watch again, but didn't rise to the upper echelons 8- Very good. Would watch again and recommend to others 9- Outstanding. Would watch over and over; top 10% of my ratings 10 - A classic. (Less than 2% receive this rating). For Lifetime Movies for Chicks (LMFC), drop the above scale by 3 notches. A 6 is excellent and 7 almost unattainable.

What started as a down and out good ole boy Midwesterner becomes a story about basically a privileged white criminal. I mean, I give him props for making money illegally and getting away with it. But there's no way he does this stuff if he's not a white dude. And despite his "I'm a dumb hick just trying to make it" attitude he's really a pompus ass.

There's not really a "there THERE". It's a little intriguing because as the story unfolds you think something BIG is going to happen. But it never really does. Overall, decent doc but wouldn't really recommend to the average person. Not really sure how he got this documentary made.

This documentary masterfully narrates the tale, spotlighting the immensely likeable Steve Glew. His endearing relationship with his wife adds a heartwarming layer to the narrative. The documentary excels in offering a deep and wonderful insight into this eccentric man, capturing his passion for collectible Pez dispensers. With meticulous storytelling, it celebrates Glew's journey and his impact on the Pez collector's community. A must-watch for its engaging portrayal and heartwarming moments, "The Pez Outlaw" paints a vivid and touching portrait of both a man and his beloved obsession. An easy watch, I give it a solid 7 out of 10.

The writing and directing (maybe also even the editing) had some issues on how this story was told. Even at a comfortable mere 85 min runtime, it felt much longer. This docu-film needed more narrative or to have been cut down to a short film. Most of the story was cohesive, but it seemed some elements to the sub-plots were missing that were needed to compliment some of the sub-plots. There were clarity issues in some of the narrative. Aside from all that, the story was certainly entertaining and colorful. It's a must-see for Pez fans and collectors alike. It's a well deserved 7/10 from me, all going to the Pez Outlaw.

The subject of The Pez Outlaw is light hearted but not without it's drama. The film is such a well balanced mix of interviews, re-enactments and beautiful visual delights as you follow Steve Glew taking on his personal fears as well as Pez USA. Beyond that, it is also a love story and an interesting look into the world of Pez collecting and the characters that it attracts.

This film is certainly quirky, funny and a bit off-beat all while upholding and honoring Steve's character. For anyone who enjoys seeing the little guy take on the world (or Pez USA), I couldn't recommend this documentary more.

10/10 Pez. (Yes I know they come in rolls of 12, but I ate the other 2)

This is one of those rare documentaries that would actually be better told as a fictional movie than a documentary. It's the story of Steve Glew who made millions of dollars smuggling Pez dispensers into the United States. Steve's story is interesting because he grew up very poor, and he discovered something which would ultimately make him wealthy, but then he got bored with doing that, and he wanted to be more creative, and then he crossed a line which he was unable to come back from. Also interesting is how Steve's nemesis is presented as this arrogant villain, but in actual fact everything that Steve was doing was technically illegal. So you feel kind of bad for him because he seems to be a sweet, good-natured individual, but on the other hand it was a completely predictable failure. So an interesting watch.

Great story and film. Historical scenes were well recreated and interviews were incisive. A lot of depth was developed among the main character. Very fun to see the main character playing himself. Film, however, was a bit long.

I wish the guy either had help or found other ways to beat the system but oh well...

ANALYSIS: This documentary is more like a mockumentary of a human spirit getting denied by THE MACHINE. The worst part is that they were even happy about doing it. The bad guys did it in the most wrong way possible. For some reason the Pez Outlaw was dumb enough not to patent his ideas/art. That was the most stupid thing for him....

Though on the other hand we could see this all play out how it wasn't, just a story built up upon it. What I mean it, it was all planned and deliberately done so no other artist would be able to benefit and do their own thing in the PEZ industry. Which sounds far-fetched, but it's well organized and planned. Why do you think would there be a loophole for PEZ to have let this happen legally? With the whole trafficking from EU to US.

REVIEW: It's a pretty cute story of a person being very passionate about something and setting out to accomplish it with high risk and high reward. Finding something that is interesting and leaving their comfort zone in what they could have not imagined doing is truly inspiring.

This was an interesting, well-made, and entertaining documentary. My Dad was actually a collector of Pez, had all of the pre-internet pricing guides and I remember helping him look up many Pez to find out which colors were rare and worth money. This was fascinating to see an insider look at how crazy Pez collectors can get but Steve is a gem.

SIFF 2022 Watch #1.

Well made! Creative non-fiction Heaven!

Outstanding true story you will enjoy.

This story is so well told that if there is not a award category for it to win something, they need to make one. Outstanding entertainment. I found myself rooting for this couple the minute I met them. Extraordinary true story where you will cheer, laugh and feel sad for a bit but remember, in the end they sold their story to Netflix and deserve every penny!

We all love a rags to riches stories. This is well made with a very happy ending to a good guy who started from nothing. I need 15 more letters so Enjoy, Enjoy Enjoy !!