Like him or not, heard of him or not, Machine Gun Kelly seems to be an unavoidable and aggressive pustule on the American cultural landscape, ever since Megan Fox sat on him. I may be way off base, and am happy to be corrected (or I care less, maybe 'happy' implies correction is valuable where it really isn't) but this 'out of nowhere, talentless celebrity hanger-on' surely must have more going for him than just rutting a famous superchick?
Fox likes bad boys, we get it. Now if she can just grow up and act her age, then perhaps she can get back to making semi-decent efforts of entertainment. Perhaps she thinks MGK needs her help. That must be it, charity.
You can't manufacture a musical genius, or any other kind, no matter how much goodwill and dollar you hurl at it, and this undeniable truth is evidenced here. But you can still try and so they have. Those with ears for a tune will normally find you out pretty much immediately.
So I don't like his music, however popularity by powerful marketing does indeed work, but still doesn't make it authentic, an issue MGK has trouble in spades with, in my opinion. I expect his fans will disagree. In the same way Bo Burnham became a cultural phenomenon almost overnight, the reverence for his talents are amplified to such a degree as to force his attempts into even my atmosphere, where it hits a slightly short-tempered, unforgiving and impatient wall.
When the comment about Pharrell Williams 'Happy' comes up, it is suggested that some of the happiest sounding songs are actually the saddest and that 'Happy' sounded like someone had a gun to your (or Pharrell's, I don't know, this wasn't made clear) head, demanding you be happy. I felt the same way about this film, as if society was demanding me to appreciate it. They really don't know me at all, do they.
He really wants to be a superstar, that much is obvious, but he seems to be sauntering through his shot at it in a collection of odd jumpers, hats, weed (I assume) and morose and silent internal wanderings that only he and Kurt Cobain could possibly understand. If Fox wants to be the next Courtney Love, then she might just get her wish, but I think she is aiming a little low.
"A transcendence into toxicity", indeed. Though an entirely unworthy one.