What does it mean to be a man? Within the trends of manscaping, male grooming, and metrosexuals, documentarian Morgan Spurlock explores this question in Mansome.

In Mansome, the latest documentary from Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me), the documentarian attempts to tackle the modern age of masculinity, and what it means to be a man amidst a society of shaving, waxing, manicures, and mixed media messages. With the help of a number of celebrity friends, Spurlock’s latest is a fluffy, somewhat entertaining glimpse into this world, that fails to say anything meaningful or really commit to carrying any sort of weight on the subject.

Mansome sort of haphazardly follows several different “characters,” each of whom offers a different perspective on the behavior of the modern man. Spurlock himself is featured, as he explores his own masculinity by shaving off his signature handlebar mustache. Elsewhere, the film follows Jason Bateman and Will Arnett – who also produce the movie – as they take in a day at the spa and have faux-meaningful discussions about how they maintain their masculinity amidst manicures and massages.

Spurlock also interviews a host of other celebrities and noted figures, including Adam Carolla, Zach Galifianakis, Judd Apatow, Paul Rudd, Isaiah Mustafa, and John Waters, all of whom are more entertaining than insightful. These interviews are more fluff than anything, and don’t really do anything to answer Spurlock’s hypothesis of “What does it mean to be a man?”

For good measure, Mansome follows around a few colorful characters, including a professional competitive “beardsman,” like world champion and all-around oddball, Jack Passion. Again, instead of attempting to say anything meaningful or even merely definitive in one direction of the other, Spurlock options for light moments, which are fine, but don’t really add up to much substance.

With precious few moments of true wit and humor, Spurlock largely wastes the potential Mansome clearly has. In theory, there can be quite a lot to unravel and explore when it comes to the recent trends in male grooming and how they affect our society’s perception of masculinity. Instead, the film meanders between interview subjects and anecdotal stories that are, if anything, loosely tied together into a coherent documentary.

Mansome is a light, sometimes fun, often dull and uninteresting look at an otherwise potentially interesting topic. Spurlock is a bit all over the map with this documentary, as he brings in a lot of people, celebrities or not, to comment on the topic of masculinity. It’s quite astonishing that in 82 minutes, with countless interviews and subjects, the film is unable to really say much of anything on the subject.

Grade: C-

Rated: PG-13 (for language and some crude material.)

Mansome opens in limited theaters on May 18, 2012.