THE STORY – Follows Dallas entrepreneur Bill Moore as he attempts to make penis enlargement as commonplace as Botox.
THE CAST – N/A
THE TEAM – Daniel Lombroso (Director/Writer)
THE RUNNING TIME – 91 Minutes
Will we ever reach a point of satisfaction with how we look? As science has evolved, we have pushed ourselves to the limits in our pursuit of the often-idealized version of who we wish to become. Pills, extensive workout routines, plastic surgery, you name it, we have experimented with it. It has come to a point that many unresolved issues with ourselves have led us down the rabbit hole of harmful procedures or methods, such as bonemaxxing, which have grown all the more popular in a post-Clavicular landscape that is molding the next generation of adolescent males across the country. There’s no telling what one would do to reach their perfect body, let alone for men who have all but slotted themselves into parameters teetering on self-victimization. It’s a mindset that has piqued the interest of documentary filmmaker Daniel Lombroso, whose new film “Manhood” spotlights the individuals and consequences of altering, maybe, the one body part that shouldn’t be tinkered with.
It would be easy for Lombroso to come from a place of innate disappointment towards his subjects. Even through an empathetic lens, audiences will surely feel a range of emotions towards both the people at the center of this film and the system that puts them in this very position. It’s all the more fascinating when you have someone like anti-aging entrepreneur Bill Moore, the creator of PhalloFill. For those unaware, this is a medical procedure that adds increased girth to the penis for those unsatisfied with the size they have. Through multiple sessions (and thousands of dollars), patients can continually add extra inches of girth until they reach the highest sleeve. To many of Moore’s clients, he’s the second coming of Christ due to his ability to hack the body and give porn-brained men the junk they feel is needed to exist in the societal jungle that is everyday life. Others may think of him as a snake oil salesman hocking procedures to clients, some of whom, in the film, struggle to finance. Lombroso never takes a definitive stance, allowing viewers to gauge their own perceptions of a man who’s done nothing but excel in his business and give people exactly what they asked for.
Moore is an intriguing figure, from his lavish lifestyle to his relationships with his clients. There’s something inherently comical in the way “Manhood” is presented, as soon as audiences get past a rapidly edited display of the modern man’s content feed and how it ultimately shapes their perception of masculinity in today’s age. Many will scoff at the idea of penile enhancement surgery and think of it as something to laugh at, but for someone like Ruben Ramirez, one of the three subjects of “Manhood,” it’s his pathway to self-empowerment. It’s Ramirez’s last lifeline to confidence that he somehow hasn’t been able to find in all his years of living. Lombroso’s introduction to Ramirez makes him a relatable cipher, a family man of five children, who does stand-up comedy in his free time. His decision, fueled by the consumption of hours of Joe Rogan’s podcast and later to be revealed trauma, all but made the dangerous cocktail that would alter his life. For better or worse, that is not Lombroso’s opinion to be spelled out, but witnessing Ramirez’s journey makes one question whether it was ever really worth it.
Audiences sitting through Ramirez’s testimonials may find themselves in disbelief, struggling to see how they’re missing the mark (especially from his wife), unlike the sympathy that will naturally be garnered for the film’s other subject, David Smith. Smith’s journey after suffering a botched penile enhancement that has forever haunted him is seeking help and guidance from Moore, who aims to help him get the body he desires. Most of the emotionality in “Manhood” is driven by Smith’s journey of self-acceptance and realizing that this wasn’t the true pathway to inner peace. His upbringing as a closeted gay man from a catholic family whose OnlyFans career instigated his already simmering insecurities is a cautionary tale.
Lombroso’s work as a journalist, mainly exploring tainted right-wing ideologies, has only cemented the close link between insecurity and it: how the country, through the content it consumes, shows men a world even further from the reality we actually live in. Lombroso’s storytelling is tight, and his ability to bounce among all three subjects makes for a well-paced documentary that doesn’t retread the same few points. If anything, his aversion to a far more direct, opinionated output, while leaving room for audiences to form their own perceptions of these individuals, leaves something to be desired, mainly with Moore. His relationship with Smith, which comes off as exploitative, is not prodded enough, as if it would only taint the audience’s view of him. It’s the one glaring hole in this portrait of modern masculinity that feels ignored.
Despite this, “Manhood” is more than an engaging documentary; it should be a wake-up call to love yourself more. We can only push things to a certain limit, and if anything, some of the people in this documentary would agree.
