Shout! Studios / Radial Entertainment
Today, we’re looking at Drew Friedman: Vermeer of the Borscht Belt.
I’ve been Facebook friends with Drew Friedman off and on for maybe 15 years. I first heard of him with his Tor Johnson strips back in the 1980s. I knew of his dad, Bruce Jay Friedman, even before that, from magazine articles and from Steambath, a remarkably original satirical play that aired on PBS in the early 1970s.
I have long been a fan of Drew’s work. In fact, like many people, I used to think he must have drawn his often bizarre panel strips of various celebrities from actual photographs. They looked that realistic!
There’s no denying Drew Friedman’s astonishing talent for portraiture, whether straightforward or caricature.
From his early stippled, warts and all comic strips to his bestselling modern day mastery, he’s had a non-stop ride to the top of his field.
A lot of illustrators are said to be unique but Drew most certainly is, with his work instantly recognizable by anyone who has ever seen any examples. He deserves to have a documentary about him!
Which brings us to Drew Friedman: Vermeer of the Borscht Belt.
By way of full disclosure, I should point out that several other folks I know in one way or another actually appear in this documentary and another 20 names of Facebook pals are mentioned at the end amongst the crowdfunding patrons. That said, I had absolutely nothing to do with this documentary nor had even heard of it until recently!
The late Gilbert Gottfried appears throughout the documentary (before he was late, obviously) and the two men remind me so much of one another in that they have both always celebrated forgotten or marginalized celebrities. For Gilbert, John McGiver, for Drew, Tor Johnson, and both men loved Shemp Howard and Old Groucho!
At just under an hour, the film is short and sweet, offering just enough background on its subject for either a longtime fan or a newbie just discovering he artist. The man himself is handsome, erudite, perhaps a tad haughty, but knows every single detail of Shemp’s face!
Drew shows the viewer around his “Jewseum,” discussing some of the folks he admires like Jack Benny and William Frawley. We see him drawing, he tells a few amusing anecdotes, and we’re shown photos and clips of him from over the years. We also meet and hear from his father, Bruce, who died in 2017, and one can sense his personal pride at his son’s success.
Besides Bruce Jay Friedman and Gilbert Gottfried, a number of other well-known folks have come along to sing the praises of the artist. These include Robert Crumb (himself the subject of an uncensored documentary back in ’94), film director Larry Karazsewski, cult-favorite actor Richard Kind, podcaster Frank Santopadre, Merrill Markoe (the writer behind the success of Late Night with David Letterman), writer Kliph Nesteroff (to whom I shall be eternally grateful but that’s another story), creator of Beavis and Butthead Mike Judge, and more!
Director Kevin Dougherty keeps everything moving, and the talking heads are all fun and funny, The style of the film is sharp and colorful and we even get some bloopers during the closing credits.
I watched the film with my wife, who was not at all familiar with Drew Friedman. At first, she was trying to do something on her laptop at the same time. Before long, she put the computer aside and became engrossed in Drew’s story. By the end, she said she’s now a new fan!
If you’re a fan, might I suggest you share Drew Friedman: Vermeer of the Borscht Belt with someone who isn’t yet, and the movie might even end up getting him more fans than this Vermeer fella…whoever HE is!
Booksteve recommends.
Drew Friedman: Vermeer of the Borscht Belt will be available for purchase
or rent in the U.S. and Canada on September 23, 2025 via
Apple, Amazon, Fandango At Home, and other digital platforms
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