Kicking The Door Down: Blue Suede Jew

Blue Suede Jew
(BBC Two. Monday. 9PM)

Meet Gil – a slightly overweight 45 year old Israeli Elvis impersonator. But his act goes beyond the usual admiration – Gil is driven by a pathological belief that he was personally appointed by Elvis from beyond the grave.

But being the heir to the king is the least of his bizarre claims. He also believes that his son is a medium, and that he has Elvis on psychic speed dial. And those scrunched up sheets of paper which occasionally fly in front of the camera – they’re notes from Elvis.

Then there’s Morgan Matthews - a rather dapper English film maker. And while he may have spent the sixty minutes behind the camera spewing forth a rather nasal narrative, his aspirations were pretty clear too – Matthews fancies himself as the heir of Louis Theroux.

And throughout Blue Suede Jew he attempts all of Theroux’s greatest hits – that bashful inquisitiveness, the wry laughter and that beguiling faux-innocence.

But just like Gil (who ends up losing out at an international Elvis talent show), Matthews failed to convince us of his talents.

Theroux finds humanity where we least expect it – he turns stereotypes and urban legends into three dimensional characters.

With Matthews things just get weirder. And he’s too domineering and manipulative - pushing Gel further into his delusions. He even arranges for Uri Geller to phone Gil to confirm one of his deluded prophecies.

Even behind the camera, Matthews is too overbearing. If Theroux can contain his discontent at the Westoboro Baptist Church’s picketing of funerals (he remarked it made him feel ‘a little uncomfortable’) then surely we can expect Matthews to be a little less abrasive.

That’s the difference between the two of them – with his blend of social-espionage the unobjectionable Theroux slowly seeps into the domestic humdrum of his subject’s lives; Matthews doesn’t.

Theroux spends a few days with neo-Nazis and ends up sitting down for breakfast with them; Matthews is more likely to be at the head of the table, guffing and barking his thoughts like a great uncle after a little too much port.

After Gil’s witnessing heartbreak at the hands of the Las Vegas judges, I feel rather cruel in returning this verdict – but it has to be said. Matthews has a lot to work on. Thoroughly unconvincing.