Using original TV news segments and disaffected narration from Stewart himself, we see the origins of the "Rainbow Man" character and the thrill of his potential fame, which sets up the crushing disappointment of hard reality when that fame never really escalates. Stewart's mental state curdles as his notoriety dwindles, and he reinvents himself as the "John 3:16" guy, holding up religious signs at sporting events. You've seen that too. TV networks never had much patience for the religious stuff, and soon Stewart is increasingly frozen out of being filmed. The money runs out; he gets deeper into end-time Christian psychosis; he ends up staging a violent kidnapping stunt in which he barricades himself in a hotel room for nine hours, brandishing a handgun! Now, that I hadn't seen. It's a fascinating story, done ample justice by the documentary, which at only 40 minutes long, doesn't make too much of it. The only thing that might have improved the film would have been bringing in Justin Guarini to be "scared straight" by the now-imprisoned Rainbow Man.
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