Review: 'Trump: An American Dream'

While Donald Trump might not have been a national name until the rise of NBC's reality show "The Apprentice," New Yorkers have dealt with his hurricane of chaotic behavior since the 1970s. Nearly all of the personality traits and negotiation skills he's utilized so far during his Presidency have been on public display since he began his career back then as a developer learning the business in the rough-and-tumble New York City real estate market.

"Trump: An American Dream" originally aired last fall on the U.K.'s Channel 4 and now it comes to the U.S. via Netflix, which adds it on Friday. The four-part documentary series begins with Donald Trump's earliest years and covers the span of the decades since. You'll see how the infamous Trump Tower came into being and the often shady political machinations it took to get it approved by the city. Episode two covers the 1980s and Donald Trump's rise (and fall) as an Atlantic City casino owner. Episode three focuses on his marriages, which to be kind portray him as a cold-hearted, needlessly cruel douche-bag. Episode four follows his rise to the Presidency, utilizing many of the same techniques he learned in the business world.

There are a lot of anecdotes worth mentioning in the four hours, from Trump's explanation of why one marriage ended (he doesn't like to have sex with a woman who has had a baby) to the designer of Trump Tower describing the decor of the building (expensive public areas with apartments filled with 'crap' materials). Some of the stories you've probably heard before, but there are plenty of unexpected ones and they're all woven together seamlessly into a coherent and compelling biography.

"Trump: An American Dream" is remarkably fair-minded, perhaps because it was put together outside the U.S. It's obviously an effort to try and understand the political rise of a man often dismissed as a blowhard until he became President. The documentary does a nice job of showing that the man we see in 2018 is not that different than the 1980s casino owner who kept borrowing money he knew he couldn't repay. He's always been impulsive and confident in his ability to just outlast his critics. While these traits are compelling in a businessman, they can be jarring when they come from a man who is one of the most powerful politicians in the world.

One thing you're likely to take away from the documentary is the reminder that Donald Trump is a very old man. Watching the handsome and forceful 1970s developer play the press as chumps as he charms them is a reminder that he uses the same tricks in 2018. But with the passage of time, the bluster and confidence often is tinged with an air of sadness and age. Much has been made of Trump's current inability to remain verbally incoherent for any length of time. There has been plenty of speculation that some sort of mild dementia might be the cause. But watching "Trump: An American Dream," you realize the cause is more likely just the passage of time. Watching his current incarnation is like viewing the final scenes of "Death Of A Salesman." For all of this political power, Donald Trump in 2018 is just a shell of his 1970s self. Watching the four hours of the documentary leaves you with the uneasy feeling that Trump's legendary temper and unpredictability is driven more by his subconscious acceptance of his age than anything else.

I'm not sure any one documentary can ever fully capture the larger-than-life history of Donald J. Trump. But "Trump: An American Dream" is an essential entry in the world's attempt to unravel the mysteries of his rise to power.