Published at: March 18, 2009, 7:27 p.m. CST by merrick
Greetings humans, Monki here with a few more films from SXSW 2009. So far the fest has yet to disappoint in the area of content, but the lines for these movies have been insane. I'm not sure how to remedy the issue, but I long for the time when I didn't have to be in line an hour and a half before a movie started...or pray that one of my friends grabbed an extra seat for me.
The lines didn't stop me from seeing a fantastic doc called BEST WORST MOVIE. This is a documentary that focuses on the cult phenomenon that is the movie TROLL 2.
I'll admit, I haven't seen TROLL 2...yet. I've been told of it's wonders by countless friends, but I just haven't had the chance to sit down and bask in it's awfulness. After seeing BEST WORST MOVIE, I'm pretty sure I absolutely have to though.
BEST WORST MOVIE is directed by Michael Stephenson who actually played the role of Joshua in TROLL 2. After almost two decades of hiding from the original film, he found that there was a huge cult following behind it. From there it was just a matter of reuniting with some of the original cast members and touring the country basking in their newfound fame. This doc follows that progression from terrible film to cult classic one might find in the "Holy Fucking Shit" category at a movie store.
One of the breakout stars of the documentary is George Hardy, who played the father in the original TROLL 2. He now practices dentistry in Alabama and is well loved by his town. This is one genuinely cool and down to earth kind of guy. You can see the appreciation he has for his fans in the huge smile on his face throughout most of the movie.
There are tons of other surprises scattered throughout this film that will have you rolling. I'm thinking of one shot in particular where two "little people" who played goblins in the original film are being interviewed and the Italian director walks up behind them. He listens in while they are kind of bashing his direction until they realize he is standing behind them. I can't believe the cameraman held his shit together to keep the shot.
BEST WORST MOVIE is my favorite non-Hollywood film I've seen so far at SXSW and I recommend it to anyone who is a fan of fandom. It's a heartwarming tale with a bit of goblins thrown in for good measure.
From there it was a bit of stalling, drinking and eating until OBSERVE AND REPORT.
I'm a bit of a late bloomer to Jody Hill's comedies. It wasn't until a couple of months ago that I finally caught THE FOOT FIST WAY, and then recently saw EAST BOUND AND DOWN on HBO, but now, seeing what the man can do with a big(ger) budget, I'm eager to see this guy's ride through the comedy landscape.
OBSERVE AND REPORT follows a pretty simple plot setup. Flasher terrorizes women at a local mall; local mall cop wants to bust the bad guy and get the glory and impress the girl; mall cop has to battle against local policeman in order to get the glory; wackiness ensues.
Everyone in this film is excellent. Rogen absolutely destroys his role as Ronnie, the mall security badass with an itchy trigger finger. Anna Farris is as hot as ever and Moriarty had to restrain me from rushing the stage after the film to get closer. Ray Liotta was as badass as ever. Danny McBride continues to kick ass on film. Patton Oswalt rocks the food court...it seems as though everyone was spot on for the film.
As funny as this film is, it has some very very dark moments. Friend of the site, FleshGordon pointed out to me that Hill takes his characters to very dark places. Good lord do we see that here. There is some seriously messed up shit in this movie. I'm thinking in particular of a scene with Farris and Rogen and just a hit on vomit on a pillow. Wow.
I know this is a rather short review, but I can't express enough how much you should see this film when it releases. It'll put Rogen in a whole new light and you get to see Anna Farris in a bra at least twice.
Oh, and the Pixies song from the end of Fight Club will forever be stuck in your head along with a mental image that you will never be able to remove.
After the film everyone headed to Emo's to grab a few free drinks and if you spotted me you would have seen that I was triple-fisting at one point. (Gotta love the free Shiners.) Good times.
The next day was a short one for me, I only caught one flick before heading out to some St. Paddy's Day shenanigans. I swung by the Alamo South to see THE LAST BEEKEEPER. This documentary follows the lives of three beekeepers as they take their bees to California to help pollinate the almond trees.
In what would seem to be a relatively simple, light-hearted subject, we find a world of some serious trouble. It seems as though bees have been dying off in huge numbers as of late, and no one is sure exactly why. In the film one of the beekeepers actually loses about seventy percent of her hives just in transit from her home base to California. Bees are coming down with some kind of problem and no one has been able to put a finger on it yet.
The story follows three different sets of beekeepers as they make the trek from their homes out to California and the problems they run in to along the way. Director Jeremy Simmons found some incredible subjects to focus on including one keeper who said that he would rather stay with his bees instead of his partner he's had for over a decade.
Simmons manages to capture some real gut-wrenching moments in these peoples' lives as they face hardships that could break them.
I never would have thought that beekeepers could have made such a fascinating subject for a documentary, but then again, that is what a festival like South by Southwest is supposed to do. I love when I stumble into films like this that catch me by surprise. If you get a chance, check out THE LAST BEEKEEPER.
I've got a few films on my list to see today, but tonight I'll be swinging out to the Datapop Party to check out some chiptunes artists. If you are in the area you should check it out. It's music created by video game equipment and some free booze! I can't wait.
Alright folks, until next time, back up the tree I go!
