I was introduced to this unique film a couple of weeks ago by a family friend. I have to say I was less than thrilled to be getting ready to watch the short films Dancing Outlaw and Dancing Outlaw 2, but once I began watching them I was laughing until the end of 2.Sure the obvious dynamic between the two films is that in the first one Jesco is in his zone, his territory and in the second film he is surrounded by a different culture which makes it more interesting but other than that it was definitely fascinating to watch to say the least.Any film that really has no story line, no plot, no real direction and is completely banking on the fact that Jesco himself is interesting enough to carry an entire movie says something when it becomes this popular.I am not saying it needs to be nominated for an Academy Award or anything, just acknowledging that for it's category which is a cheaply made and completely "real" it far outweighs the competition! Go Jesco :)

This documentary follows Jesco to Hollywood to appear on the Roseanne show. By chance, Roseanne and Tom ran across the PBS special of the first Dancing Outlaw and were destined to meet this legend and get him on the show. I was fortunate enough to see the actual broadcast on ABC many years back. It is just a two minute spot clogging at the end of the show, playing as the religious Elvis impersonating uncle, mentioned for many years in the show. They also drafted Dweezil Zappa to play Wildwood Flower on acoustic for him to dance to. This film was a major letdown after seeing the first one, before he found fame. But you do get to see Jesco in a limo jamming to Pink Floyd. I am glad that there was a follow up for one of my favorite cult icons. He had changed residents, got a few new pets, and lost a couple of friends and family members. I was fortunate enough to find both movies in a bundle for one reasonable price. The 2nd part didn't really accomplish much, except for showing that his prophecy of becoming a star had come true. I give this movie 2/5. Maybe a 3 if you are good and trashed.

I'm a West Virginia hillbilly who came to Hollywood 25 years ago, but I still got that ol' mountaineer spirit in me, so naturally I loved the two Jesco White short films, "Dancing Outlaw" and "Jesco Goes to Hollywood." Jesco is generally treated like some white trash savant, but in fact he's not all that unusual if you go up into the hollers of southern West Virginia. Jesco doesn't live too far from Hasil Adkins in Von (near Madison, WV), who was similarly "discovered" about 20 years ago when the Cramps recorded one of the crazy songs he recorded in his bedroom back in late '59 or early '60s. Picture a guy singing about cutting off his girlfriend's head and putting it on the wall, so that she "cain't eat no more hot dogs." That's Hasil Adkins, and he's just as much an unpredictable and volatile backwoods character as ol' Jesco. As for Jesco having "LOVE" tattooed on the fingers of one hand and "HATE" tattooed on the fingers of the other, well, that's a West Virginia prison tradition. Check out a 1953 novel by Davis Grubb (or see the film) called "Night of the Hunter," in which the antagonist, a jackleg West Virginia preacher who kills people (Robert Mitchum in the 1954 movie) has those words tattooed on his fingers so that he can use his hands to demonstrate the eternal battle between God and Satan. What is this review all about? Simply that Dancing Outlaw I & II are freak shows that allow us sophisticated folks to see and smirk at true hillbilly culture in all its glory, and it ain't purty. But it's sure entertaining. Jesco could teach us a thing or two about keeping it real.

This follow-up to "Dancing Outlaw" feels far more unnatural than the original, but it's just as fascinating. The short documentary follows West Virginia dance whiz Jesco to Hollywood, where he's booked to perform on the TV show "Roseanne."Most of the scenes depicting Jesco in his native Boone County are blatantly staged. This seems a bit tacky at first considering that the strength of the first "Dancing Outlaw" was the fact it approached Jesco on his own terms.But the 'sanitized' depiction of Jesco ends abruptly once Jesco arrives on the sets of "Roseanne." Roseanne Barr and Tom Arnold had been charmed by the first documentary and thought Jesco would be perfect for a 'white trash/hick' show segment. At the time the episode filmed, her relationship with Tom Arnold was disintegrating. The venom exchanged between Roseanne and Tom on the sets is often excruciating to watch.Roseanne, already in a heated spat with Arnold, flies into a rage when she sees Jesco's prison-styled swastika tattoo. The couple takes public swipes at each other, now using Jesco as a scapegoat for what were obviously pre-existing problems. Oddly, the only person who carries himself with dignity is Jesco.In the end, Hollywood can adore The Dancing Outlaw as a cult hero from afar, but they can't accept Jesco on his own terms -- which was the whole point of the first documentary. In a land of glitter and not gold, Jesco is just too real even for those who embrace controversy.