The Grand Unified Theory of Howard Bloom (Charlie Hoxie, 2019): USA

Reviewed by Ryo Nishimura. Viewed at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival 2o2o.

Comedic and intriguing. The Grand Unified Theory of Howard Bloom follows the iconic publicist, Howard Bloom, and his everyday life living in New York. In the 1980’s he worked as a publicist for big stars such as Michael Jackson, Price, Joan Jett, Run DMC, and Aerosmith. In a turn of events, Bloom got diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) which left him in bed for fifteen years. During his time in bed, he lost everything that he had. He lost hope for getting back up on his feet again. After many years in bed, Bloom was able to bounce back up and  reinvent himself as an author, writing books about psychology and the people’s roles in the universe.

The documentary is short and sweet, broken down into different sections highlighting certain aspects of Bloom’s life. It discusses his childhood, his early adulthood, his introduction into the music industry, his peak in his career, his down fall from CFS, and then his life now as an author. As you can see, Bloom has accomplished many things in his lifetime and the documentary shows exactly that. Even being affected by CFS for fifteen years, Bloom is still able to lighten up everybody’s day with his sense of humor and his charm. I thought that it was really funny when Bloom was surfing through the modern dating app, Tinder, after the film went deep into his philosophy on life; it really showed his easy going and laid back perspective on life.

Bloom leaves you thinking that anyone can overcome a bump in their lives. After spending fifteen years stuck in bed, Bloom was able to pull himself together and conquer his illness. The film really gives the audience an optimistic view on life. It almost makes many of our daily minor conflicts seem like nothing when we hear about people who are diagnosed with severe illnesses. I felt that this short documentary made me appreciative about my health and the things that I have in my life.

Although The Grand Unified Theory of Howard Bloom had an extraordinary message, I felt that the editing was lacking it’s part in the film. The cinematography was beautiful and well composed, yet the way they pieced them together felt a little unnatural. Many of the cuts felt rough and not fluid. I felt that there wasn’t really a pace when it came to editing. Although this is a very minor problem, the editing style made it a little hard to focus on the story of Howard Bloom. I couldn’t help but notice every bad cut.

Howard Bloom is a people lover, dog lover, and lover for the universe. He has lived an unusual yet accomplished life and still has many more things to accomplish in his time ahead. I would say that this is a must-see, for having a good message and also very intriguing insights on Howard Bloom’s philosophy on life and the human duty.