Quick look at documentary: "That Guy Who Was In That Thing"

The easiest documentary to make is one involving interesting people telling interesting stories.

(I'm guessing I'm right. It's not like spending a year following antarctic penguins around has "piece of cake" written all over it.)

The easy ones, though, can also lead to a good time. Hence, "That Guy Who Was In That Thing" -- essentially 10 dudes who play the role of non-starring "guest star"or supporting supporting character, talking about their careers.

Most of what they talk about is not surprising. The money stinks, the job market's a bit tight, and all of them, even the ugly ones, dream about making it big.

You've already figured that out. But it's in the details -- one guy gave up a Rhodes scholarship, another couldn't afford a car 10 years into his career, everyone eventually plays on Star Trek -- that an entertaining and human story emerges. These characters are all sympathetic, these are the little people trying to make their way in a harsh environment, and there's no dishing on the bigger stars, which would have cheapened the whole thing.

"That guy" is true to the name. There are no actress counterparts in this film. I would have liked to get their take, but I saw the reason why -- actresses have a whole different set of challenges that could have turned things very dark very fast. You can't have one actress tell the story about being harassed by five bosses in one day, and then switch back to the guy complaining about how he had a sneezing fit and blew off his prosthetic Klingon forehead in the middle of a shot. Too jarring.

Available streaming on Netflix.