Hey, everyone. ”Moriarty” here. Love the title. Can’t wait to see the film. Thanks for the review, man.
Last year, I came to Austin from Tampa for SXSW to play with a band at the BAAMO music showcase. Being a musician who is actually a filmmaker by day, I was very excited to be here and finally get the chance to see the original Alamo Drafthouse. Glad I did, too, since a coupla months later they shut it down. The movie I saw and reviewed "Hell On Wheels", about the American rivival of roller derby that started in Austin in 2000, was unfortuantely only read by about three people. So lo and behold, I’m back in Austin for SXSW with a different band, again to play the BAAMO show at Yard Dog Gallery (free beer, food and cigars, btw) at 4:45pm and then the Red Gorilla thing at the Dizzy Rooster at 7pm. This year, I decided to spend more time here so I flew in on Monday, got a rental car with a GPS and enjoyed stress-free driving all over your capitol city. I suffered a miserable defeat yesterday. I was first in the general admission line at the Alamo Ritz for the 4pm show, “Illicit Ills”, and waited for over an hour just to be turned away. Towards the end, I was the only guy standing there, feeling like a penny waiting for change. It was all made better by the fact that I was able to get on the guest list for the midnight show, “Not Your Average Bigfoot Movie”. Director Jay Delaney is an acquaintance of mine. He’s a graduate student at the same school where I’m a video producer. So naturally, when he told me that his film was accepted to SXSW, I told him I was gonna be there, yadda, yadda. Jay and a couple of his film cohorts made a pretty extraordinary, if all too short, documentary/character study of two native Ohioians, Dallas and Wayne, who are amateur Bigfoot trackers (what, exactly, makes someone a professional?). The two of them have taken hundreds of photos that they believe are proof-positive that the Man of the Forest is real. Dallas and Wayne are very simple men, leading simple lives, dreaming of going down in history as the guys who finally proved the legend of Sasquatch. Their own evidence would suggest that they are hopelessly deluded. They take our filmmakers on trips into the woods, both day and night and demonstrate their Bigfoot tracking prowess, believing that they see actual tracks in the mud, broken branches and other “evidence” that most folks would instantly dismiss. All of this makes for (depending on what you think is funny) some extremely entertaining moments. But it’s the personal interview stuff, when it’s just Wayne talking to Director Jay (off camera) or Dallas doing the same, that makes these two guys 100% real and lovable. Wayne, a big, hulking guy, breaks down emotionally more than once, unable to control his facial expressions. This guy, God love him, bears his soul in an unforgettable way. There’s one phone call with Wayne that was truly gut-wrenching. There’s more real drama in this doc than I can tell without spoiling it. I do hope you take the time to seek out this amazing little real-life nugget. You will never forget Dallas and Wayne ’s world. Technically, there are some minor problems. Digital filmmaking on a budget has it’s issues, particularly with shooting outdoors at night, but those scenes are few and the rest of the show more than makes up for it. On the upside, the sound is really excellent for the entire film. I give this team a lot of credit for cutting 72 hours of tape down to a slim 62 minutes of film. Jay said in the Q&A that his first cut was 2 ½ hours! I think the question a lot of people will ask themselves after seeing this is when, exactly, do you cross the line that separates exposition and exploitation? Many people will watch this movie and laugh long and hard at Dallas and Wayne. Others will find a truly heart-warming slice of Americana like no other. Congratulations, Jay. I feel pretty sure we’ll be seeing “Not Your Typical Bigfoot Movie” on HBO or Showtime some day soon. Stan Arthur
