As the “King of Pop” and maker of the best-selling album of all time, the late singer Michael Jackson has legions of fans. But as it goes with any type of fandom, there are levels to it. There are the Michael Jackson casual fans. There are Michael Jackson superfans. And then there’s Freddy Duffour, a.k.a. the Truthwalker. The 25-year-old from Quebec is the ultimate Jackson fan, and he’s devoted his life to the massively influential yet controversial entertainer.
The new documentary Me, Michael and I, which recently premiered at the Hot Docs film festival in Toronto, follows Duffour as he attempts to put on a Las Vegas-caliber Michael Jackson tribute show that reproduces each of Jackson’s major tours, getting as close to the technical details as possible.
But it’s not just for the show that Duffour wants to be as close to Jackson as possible. Early in the film, Duffour gets a tattoo of Jackson’s signature, and as the film progresses, the measures he takes get much more drastic. For example, he has mouth surgery so he can have MJ’s smile, leaving him with chipmunk cheeks and temporarily unable to speak.
Duffour even travels across the globe to get a nose job. In a memorable scene, he calls around to plastic surgeons in Turkey, asking if they speak English. He eventually contacts an office that does and says he wants a Michael Jackson nose – the Thriller-era one, not the “stereotype nose” Jackson sported before his death in 2009 at age 50.
Duffour’s girlfriend, Danny, features prominently in the film. Danny and Duffour’s parents fully support his goal of presenting the show to the Jackson estate for approval.
“I can only describe the relationship he has with Michael as magical,” says Danny, who is a dancer in Duffour’s show. “I’ve never seen someone understand someone without knowing them.”
Duffour’s mother explains that he was around 16 when he first got interested in Jackson, mimicking his dance moves and signature moonwalk around the house.
“He latched on to Michael, and he never let go,” his mom says in French. “It was where he found a personality, where he found himself.”
In another scene, Duffour goes on a Quebec news program in which a journalist asks him about the pedophilia accusations against Jackson. Duffour says he doesn’t believe them.
Me, Michael and I is a fascinating story of obsession and perseverance, largely presented in cinéma verité-style. The film does bog down occasionally during its 75 minute run time, but ultimately I found myself invested in Duffour’s story and cared if he succeeded. Music doc fans may be reminded of a similar film, 2019’s Mr. Jimmy, in which a Japanese guitarist becomes obsessed with Jimmy Page and recreates his shows as close to authentic Led Zeppelin as possible.
Perhaps primarily recommended for superfans of MJ, Me, Michael and I should also be of interest to casual fans, as well as those who appreciate a well-executed human-interest documentary. The filmmakers, Nicolas-Alexandre Tremblay and Régis Coussot, follow Duffour’s obsession with MJ without judgment. No matter how you feel about Jackson and his complicated legacy, Duffour’s story is compelling. As he says of his hero at the beginning of the film: “People can say what they want; that guy changed the world. I see him as a mentor. I see him as a man before a god.”
Hot Docs 2024 has wrapped, but keep up with the festival here and learn more about Me, Michael, and I.
