The Rainbow Man/John 3:16

This is a very cool documentary tracing the life of an extremely lonely person as he finds fame, then religion and finally crime. The filmmakers have dug up an amazing amount of archive footage, and I like how they have kept it objective by not adding any commentary of their own, but simply presenting the events as they happened. I just wish they had allowed Stewart to talk a little more--most of his narration is just about his childhood, not about the climactic events the movie covers.

The storyline is very grim, as we find out Stewart's early life was nothing but a series of traumatic events--his parents were alcoholics, his mother died in a fire, his sister was strangled, and his first wife left him. It is not hard to see how a person with such a background would try ANYTHING to find a little meaning in life, whether wearing a rainbow wig and dancing like a loon at sporting events or trying to warn people of the Apocalypse. For me the most poignant part comes at the end, where we find out he still believes the end of the world is coming any day now, even though 10 years have passed since his original prediction. It's a sad portrait of someone who is still clinging to his beliefs after everything else in his life went wrong.

On a side note, the parts where Stewart explains his obsession with television reminded me very much of Jim Carrey's character in "The Cable Guy," and I have to wonder if that movie was partly inspired by this story.

If there were ever a poster boy for cult celebrity status, Rollen Stewart would be it. Attending live sporting events in the late 1970s as "The Rainbow Man," Stewart literally gained national attention by simply dancing and cheering in his rainbow colored Afro wig. Rock'n Rollen (as he was referred to at the time) was living the high life, appearing at parties, doing drugs and even receiving endorsement deals. However, when the 80s rolled around, Stewart became born again and decided to use his unique outlet to fame to change his message from "Party Hardy" to "Repent ye sinners!" Stewart slowly metamorphosed into John 3:16, a character who espoused his religious beliefs via hand drawn signs, much to the chagrin of TV directors everywhere. But as Stewart's religious hysteria grew, so did his outlandish attention grabbing antics as his recognition quickly disappeared. By the early 90s, Stewart continued his assault on national TV, but this time as a wanted criminal rather than jokester.

In an era seemingly obsessed with "celebritydom," Sam Green's 1997 documentary THE RAINBOW MAN/JOHN 3:16 is perfect viewing today. Stewart is the pioneer of the everyman who craves and gains instant success via television. He can also be considered the spokesman for the expired 15 minutes of fame club, an example of what can happen when that celebrity status becomes addicting yet unobtainable. Interviewing while serving three life sentences in prison, Stewart paints a woeful portrait of his life. Painfully shy as a child, Stewart relished the attention he received during his "Rainbow Man" years. But as the interest waned, he admits he became more and more obsessed with both watching and appearing on television. More than just an essay about Stewart, Green's excellent 41-minute documentary is also a condemning examination of the obsession with television and immediate fame. Stewart recollects how he is part of the first generation raised by television and, in his later years, how he always sought out shows that featured "reality." With these instant celebrity phenomena currently on the rise (shows like SURVIVOR and AVERAGE JOE come to mind), THE RAINBOW MAN/JOHN 3:16 is an captivating look into the mind of one of the fanatical fame seekers and may also be a harbinger of things to come.

A fascinating study of the descent into madness of Rollen Stewart, aka, the Rainbow Man. Stewart garnered national attention when he appeared in leisure suits and a rainbow wig at several Superbowls and other sporting events. At some point in the '70's, he gave up the "disco" lifestyle and was born again. The film depicts the dark side of fundamentalism by documenting the gradual take over of Stewart's personality by his Messianic complex.