Directed by Andrew Davies Gans, exploring the life of Danny Gans, one of the most successful entertainers Las Vegas has ever seen, yet he remains largely unknown beyond it. Drawing millions of fans, breaking records for sold-out shows, and being awarded Las Vegas Entertainer of the Year 12 times in a row, he became known as “The Most Famous Man You’ve Never Heard of”, but his career was cut short with his untimely death at 52. Gans’ son, Andrew Davies Gans, explores his father’s legacy and the events that led to his death.
Danny Gans is a great example of how people can gain so much fame and success, and yet still only be known to a relatively small group of people. Most viewers entering Voices: The Danny Gans Story will likely be unaware of who he was or his record-breaking, impressive career, littered with celebrity faces. Going in cold is actually a benefit here because you don’t need to know anything about him, Andrew Davies Gans does a great job of reflecting upon how his father’s career was built and his meteoric rise in Las Vegas.
That’s one of the documentary’s biggest strengths, it doesn’t try to quickly throw together the career of Gans so it can get to talking about his struggles and death, it’s a really great balance between the two. That’s of no surprise considering that it’s his son behind the camera, he thoughtfully takes the time to pay respect to the hard work of his father. That only then adds depth to the story of how his father’s constant strives for perfection, would become his ultimate downfall. There’s also a good attempt to give some thought to the issue of chronic pain, one that is often misunderstood and quite clearly, often mistreated.
Stylistically, the editing from Kate Hackett and Jamie Conklin, does a terrific job of creating super cuts of Gans’ routines all throughout Voices: The Danny Gans Story. It goes to show both the quality of the editing and the film overall, that despite taking up a big portion of the film, they never feel overused, they always have something to add. Especially when paired with some very emotional and touching stories from his friends and family. The documentary moves very well, the pacing is nicely done and it’s moving to see that genuine emotion of how much Gans meant to his community.
However, given that this is a very personal project from Andrew Davies Gansit feels as though he injects himself into it a little too much. It slowly becomes indulgent, adding cuts of himself as he’s interviewing people or simple pensive shots of himself looking into the distance. At a certain point it starts to feel performative, which is a shame as you can feel that he does have the best of intentions in wanting to honour his father and learn more about him. He just needed to take a slight step back, letting those admirable aims feed into the film, without him needing to be in front of the camera.
Voices: The Danny Gans Story is a truly loving homage from Andrew Davies Gans to his father, Danny Gans. It’s genuinely interesting to learn of Gans’ career and how he built his way up to being such an icon and a staple of the Las Vegas entertainment circuit. Especially in seeing how he had such high hopes and goals for his career and worked tirelessly to make them a reality, while being a very funny, talented, caring person. It can feel a touch indulgent on the filmmaker’s part at times, but it’s well put together, it’s captivating and you can feel the weight of the respect for Danny Gans, which makes for a lovely watch with a bittersweet edge, as you learn of the pain he went through.
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