A new documentary is quickly rising up the Netflix most-watched list, and it’s all about a Michigan man’s quest to smuggle dispensers of valuable Pez candy into the country — yeah, really.
Dubbed The Pez Outlaw, this twisted true crime doc was originally released in October last year, but resurfaced this month on Netflix and is currently at No. 6 on our list of most-watched movies. That puts it ahead of former No. 1 holder Dog Gone, The Pale Blue Eye, and The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker.
If you’re a true crime fan – or a serious candy fan – you’ll definitely want to check out The Pez Outlaw. Here’s everything you need to know about this bizarre Netflix documentary.
What is Pez Outlaw about?
The Pez Outlaw is a realistic fish-out-of-water story that follows the adventures of Steve Glio. Originally from small-town Michigan, Steve boards a plane to Eastern Europe with a unique mission: to locate a secret factory that holds the key to the world’s most sought-after and valuable Bee’s candy dispensers.
The task seems simple enough, and if he succeeds, Steve will be able to quit his job of 25 years and pull his family out of debt. The Pez smuggler soon makes more cash than he ever dreamed of by selling rare candy dispensers to collectors, but his actions catch the attention of a so-called “Pezident” who sets out on a mission to destroy the Pez Outlaw.
Blending quirky comedy and true crime elements with great presentation style, The Pez Outlaw is a funny and engaging documentary that proves there’s money to be made from just about anything.
Pez Outlaw Reviews: What Do the Critics Say?
The above synopsis might have made you snort, but Pez Outlaw’s critical reception is definitely no joke. The feature-length documentary currently holds a rare score of 100% on the review aggregation website Rotten tomatoes (Opens in a new tab) (From 25 respected reviews). Its audience score is also an impressive 83% indicating that viewers also got swept up in the Pez-themed rants.
Callum Marsh of The New York Times (Opens in a new tab) He compares the doc to the candy it is centered around, saying “Like Pez, the movie is charming and colorful—and maybe too sweet.” While Detroit News (Opens in a new tab)Adam Graham called it: “A deeply twisted and thoroughly entertaining documentary about big dreams, serving up the prestige and perils of confronting man.”
Nick Allen RogerEbert.com (Opens in a new tab) He was similarly enthusiastic, calling the doc “the unforgettable David vs. Goliath story” and Marshall Shaffer comma (Opens in a new tab) He said the film has “a real sense of pacing and storytelling that will inevitably be better than the Hollywood fantasy they make of the subject’s life.”
One of the most positive reviews came from the book by Bobby Lieber Threat movie (Opens in a new tab) To which he said, “This is the kind of film you would show someone who doesn’t like documentaries to change their mind. This is good and powerful.”
Should you stream The Pez Outlaw?
If you enjoyed fast-paced Netflix docs like Pepsi, Where’s My Jet? Then you desperately need to get The Pez Outlaw on your watchlist ASAP. It has everything you could want including larger-than-life characters, fast-paced gameplay and a story that’s so bizarre that it must be true.
Even Netflix subscribers with true criminal exhaustion should give this a shot. It’s far less terrifying than many of the genre, and its subject matter is quirky enough that it feels very different from its contemporaries. Pez Outlaw certainly qualifies as another must-see Netflix documentary.
