Watch Burt's Buzz

Burt's Buzz is a reverential and captivating documentary, released in 2013, directed by Jody Shapiro that offers a personal biography of Burt Shavitz, the co-founder of Burt's Bees. The film delves into the life of a man who has been able to maintain his unique values in the face of today's rapidly changing world. From Shavitz's modest beginnings to the height of his success, the movie tells the story of a figure who has been as private as he was successful over the years.

Born in Great Neck, Long Island, Burt Shavitz was raised on a farm upstate, where he developed a love for nature that would later turn him into an icon in the natural products industry. After spending time in the army and working as a photographer, Burt moved to Maine, where he started keeping bees in the late 1960s. With his signature style of not wearing any socks, Shavitz became a local fixture, peddling his honey and beeswax candles in his bright yellow VW van. Eventually, he met artist Roxanne Quimby, and together they built a business selling all-natural personal care products.

Shavitz's relationship with the business was complex, and at times, fraught with tension. He marveled at how far they had come in such a short time, but it remained a project for him to service and retreat from because he valued the immediate direct contact with his customers. The documentary traces the story of his gradual self-removal from Burt's Bees, his privacy and seclusion after Quimby's legally forced buyout in 1999, and his return to his passions of photography, woodworking, and beekeeping. Even as his face was plastered on Burt's Bees products worldwide, he continued to guard his privacy, living alone in a remote corner of Maine with his dog, dogs and bee hives for company.

The movie is filled with captivating details about Shavitz's life, his work with bees, and the history and culture of his little community. In the way that most quietly determined figures end up being folk heroes, Burt Shavitz is personified as such, a man that completed the American Dream by creating an empire through his simple passion for living off the land.

Burt's Buzz, at its fundamental level, is a documentary about keeping true to oneself, remaining balanced in the face of commercial success, and living with purpose. Its storytelling style reflects this strength of character - it follows a well-carved-out narrative arc that provides a clear insight into Shavitz's career and his relationship with Burt's Bees. The audience is treated to a glimpse of what it takes to build an iconic brand based on natural principles without comprising the essence and identity of the person behind the company name.

The critical success of Burt's Buzz is drawn in large part from the character of Shavitz, which is, in many ways, just as captivating as his honey. Shapiro uses a delicate hand, drawing most of the content out of lengthy, informal conversations with Shavitz. This makes for a comfortable, intimate viewing experience that inspires its viewers to reflect on their values, choices and beliefs.

The visuals in Burt's Buzz is a stunning showcasing of Maine at its bucolic finest with its rolling hills, woods and streams. There's ample footage of Shavitz walking around his land, tending to his bee hives, working with his hands, and interacting with his community. But the film is as much a portrait of a place as it is of a person. Shapiro does a great job of capturing the essence of this corner of the world in the same way that Shavitz's Burt's Bees had captured the essence of his native and adopted state while concurrently keeping shrouded in an aura of ambiguity.

From the first frame to the last, Burt's Buzz is an engrossing and well-crafted documentary that stays true to its subject matter. It sheds light on an iconic figure who, despite a few tough moments, remains one of the kept secrets of the natural product industry. The movie maintains a respectful distance while laying bare the story, testimonials, and reflection that would seem to tell Burt's story to its fullest.

Burt's Buzz is a 2014 documentary with a runtime of 1 hour and 29 minutes. It has received mostly poor reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 6.6 and a MetaScore of 49.