Into the Jelly Belly of the Reagan Beast

Would Ronald Reagan's presidency have been less sweet for his Conservative fans and others if the former actor had not relied on a constant supply of Jelly Belly jelly beans? That's one of the intriguing subtexts of Candyman: The David Klein Story, a 2010 documentary about the inventor of the famous late 1970s concoction.

Apparently, Reagan's favorite flavor was licorice, and in honor of the recent anniversary of the politican's February 6th birthday, Jelly Belly is offering a Ronald Reagan Centennial 50-Flavor Gift Box. There are many other bits of arcane, Reagan Jelly Belly trivia: the blueberry flavor was created for his 1981 inauguration; a portrait of the former President made from 10,000 Jelly Belly's hangs in the Simi Valley RR Library; and Reagan sent some into outer space in 1983 via the Space Shuttle Columbia.

But the substance of the documentary is how inventor David Klein (pictured below) cleverly grew his company only to then allow it to be wrested away. He actually got things rolling in the late '70s by staging a more favorable setting for an Associated Press reporter. Phony customers came in during the interview, Klein greatly exaggerated the volume of his business, and the resulting press coverage was golden.

A warm-hearted wizard of invention

Klein basically did for jelly beans what Starbucks later would do for coffee and Chipotle for Mexican food. It was a designer candy for the disco generation. Klein is a fascinating, candid documentary subject; he looks a little like Michael Moore and has the same facility with description. From describing how he came up with the idea for Jelly Belly's while watching Happy Days to later appearing on the Mike Douglas Show alongside Henry Winkler, the doc is chock full of golden pop culture moments.

At the halfway mark, Candyman veers into familiar territory when it comes to tales of red-hot American entrepreneurs growing hugely popular entities: corporate double crosses and questionable business decisions. Or, as the film's producer (and David's son) Bert Klein puts it, "it's The Social Network with candy.”

There are also a handful of fascinating SoCal tidbits, from the Century City push cart that helped get Jelly Belly rolling to the San Marino store that spelled the beginning of the end for Klein. And throwaway mention of some of Klein's many other creations such as Crappe (chocolate in the form of a turd) and candy coins packaged in urine sample jars ("You're in the money").

Bittersweet biography

Klein is as colorful as his designer jelly beans, a real-life Willy Wonka who powers the documentary to many high-value calorific moments. The film played last year at Slamdance, Toronto's Hot Docs, the Omaha Film Festival, and the RINCON event in Puerto Rico. Candyman can be purchased in DVD form via Amazon-IndiePix and will be available for download via IndiePixFilms.com for $11.99 starting March 29th.

Director Costa Bostes is a longtime friend and associate of Peter Jackson, having guided 2002's The Making of Lord of the Rings and co-directed, with Jackson, the 1995 mockumentary Forgotten Silver, about a silent era movie pioneer. Producer Eddie Schmidt, meanwhile, garnered an Oscar nomination in 2004 for the Kirby Dick documentary Twist of Faith.

[Candyman: The David Klein Story]