Who Is Gatsby Randolph?

Matthew Steeples

3 years ago

Matthew Steeples previews ‘Who Is Gatsby Randolph?’ and finds it not only refreshingly raucous, but also proof that anyone can achieve their dream

In England, we have party crashers like David Pun – a bow tie wearing blaggart who pretends to own Harvey Nichols, but actually lives in a bus shelter in Hammersmith. Freakish toerags like him and the bigoted berk Marie-Claire, Baroness von Alvensleben pollute events, hoovering up canapés and nabbing gift bags with audacity and awfulness, but in Hollywood there’s a marvelous man who has got the art of getting into the Vanity Fair Oscars after-party down to a fine art.

London’s leading liggers, amongst them bow tie wearing David Pun (right) and convicted racist Marie-Claire, ‘Baroness’ von Alvensleben (left, with disgraced ‘entertainer’ Michael Barrymore), flash business cards lacking class, style and elegance, but still somehow get their wicked way into society bashes. How they get away with it remains a mystery and though there have been proposals to make documentaries about their antics, these have yet to reach the viewing public.

English actress turned award winning producer Alexa Jago, however, has managed to bring the remarkable yet totally true story of a humble boy from Memphis, Tennessee who sought out and achieved his dream of getting to the top in Tinseltown to the big screen.

With a (borrowed but real) Oscar and a bottle of Dom Perignon (or five), this bio-documentary of an aspiring music producer turned tastemaker illustrates the power of Instagram. In it, the star claims “social media is archival footage” and through weaving his posts into a cohesive story, Gatsby Randolph becomes a genuine and welcomed personality.

A ‘mockumentary’ in style and deservedly lauded as “Borat meets Entourage,” Who Is Gatsby Randolph? tells the story of Memphis, Tennessee born Kobie Randolph’s transition as he seeks out fame and fortune in Tinseltown. Rather like in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel from which he takes his adopted moniker, “people were not invited – they went there” is the premise of our suave, cigar chomping protagonist.

Produced by talented English theatre and film actress turned award winning producer Alexa Jago – best known for having worked alongside amongst others Kevin Costner and for having been part of the team behind the 2015 hit Kajaki (AKA Kilo Two Bravo) – and due for theatrical release in the coming months, here is a film about a young man’s rise from poverty to the pinnacle of power and privilege living in a mansion in the Hollywood Hills.

With 101,000 followers on Instagram currently, but ironically without 101 Dalmatians, in what has been described as “a poignant wild ride through red carpets with unlimited access to all the glitz and glamour,” this bio-documentary examines not only success, but also struggle.

Reinvention is key to Kobie Randolph’s transition into his alter-ego ‘Gatsby’ and of his journey, the star recently told FilmInk: “As a filmmaker, I recognised that my own story of rags to riches was, in fact, a movie in the making.” He most certainly has achieved that and Who Is Gatsby Randolph? most definitely looks set to be one of the hits of 2022.

Pictured top – Kobie Randolph, a man described by British actor Hainsley Lloyd Bennett as making him “feel like I could take over Hollywood.” Of him, the ‘Pennyworth’ star recently remarked: “His electric spirit jumps through the screen… He projected that he was somebody, so everyone treated him like he was and that was irrespective of his race, his age and his looks.”