If someone were to reveal that THE PEZ OUTLAW was a mockumentary or a farce, it wouldn’t surprise me one bit. Outrageous, hilarious, and impressive, THE PEZ OUTLAW does from frame one what many documentaries fail to do over the course of an entire movie. It makes me actually invested in the story of the “characters”, and not just the subject or outcome.

THE PEZ OUTLAW covers the exploits of Steve Glew, a man who spent a decade smuggling…drugs? Nope. People? Wrong again. Valuable artifacts? I mean, kinda. Pez dispensers.

Directors Amy Bandlien Storkel and Bryan Storkel take an innocuous candy receptacle and in less than an hour-and-a-half elevates Pez’s status to Beanie Baby levels of collectability.

Special shout out to Britton Foster for their cinematography for this documentary. There’s something about how it comes together that feels more like a “movie” than just stitched-together interviews and archival footage.

Steve is very much an everyman, a machinist who longs for more. For every hero in a story there is a villain, and THE PEZ OUTLAW is no different. Enter, The Pezident (the head of Pez USA), who sought to destroy the empire that Glew had built.

This doc is SCARFACE minus the drugs and murder. A PG-rated version, if you will that takes what could be considered a silly premise and elevates it to something truly interesting. Bryan Storkel’s previous docs like HOLY ROLLERS and FIGHT CHURCH elicit similar feelings, but you can’t deny Amy Bandlien Storkel’s touch on THE PEZ OUTLAW that takes it to the next level. The comedic tongue-in-cheek elements keep you engaged, and the small personal moments make you root for Steve to persevere against The Pezident. Forget Game of Thrones, THE PEZ OUTLAW has all the high-concept drama you need for a night in (or out if you’re catching this on its festival run).