Monday, November 17, 2008

I shaved off his hair with an Exacto knife and painted on a goatee with model paint

Fanaticism is nothing short of comedy. Anything taken to an extreme (well, maybe almost anything) in an extreme state is funny. My personal favorite film to show the fanatical zaniness of any group is that of Trekkies. Not for nothing, but Trekkies is a horrible documentary. It doesn't really document something fairly. It's not like Crumb or Fog of War, two of the best docs I've ever seen. It's a popcorn documentary. The reason Trekkies is so important is that it was the staple "get out of my store" movie at Wow Video. I don't know how many times I was told to turn off the movie by customers. It was perfect. We'd say, "no" and they'd leave. Of course, they would leave AFTER they paid money to rent their dumb new release. It then led us to become obsessed with Trekkies in themselves. A friend even wrote a song called "I Will Wear My Uniform" based on the one lady who was so fanatical about Star Trek, she wore her Captains Uniform to Jury Duty... on the Clinton Whitewater case! Unbelievable.

To me, Trekkies themselves are just crazed fans. Just like crazy Eagles fans who go apeshit when the ref makes any call against their beloved team or crazy Harry Potter fans who waited hours on line for a book they read in one day or crazy Christians who speak in tongues. They are all nuts, but they all love what they believe in and what makes them happy. To me, I appreciate that kind of dedication to something. It led me to the love of this youngster:



Gabrielle Köerner is the most hilarious kid ever. He is young and obsessed with something that he loves. He tries to act and sound smart, yet he falls short of pronouncing words right. CLASSIC! I think there wasn't a movie watched more than Trekkies at Wow Video in the long history of it's existence. In fact, when I finally up and left the job after 4 years of amazing memories and long nights, I finally bought the VHS for $1.99. Priceless moments are still in that glorious plastic case protecting the sweet nectar of hilarity.

Then there is this guy:



My word. I love the employee of Radio Shack who wants nothing to do with the guy! How can you not enjoy the laughter this guy gives you! You can't make this shit up.

Finally, there is an amazing scene with James Doohan aka Scotty. Truly beautiful:



Not for nothing, that's some deep and touching stuff.

Endless joy and laughter is something I enjoy from a good film. Trekkies, as absurd as it seems, is perfect for doing just that. There is no way I can't include this on the list.

1. Cinema Paradiso (1988) dr. Giuseppe Tornatore
2. Rushmore (1998) dr. Wes Anderson
3. Jurassic Park (1993) dr. Steven Speilberg
4. It's A Wonderful Life (1946) dr. Frank Capra
5. Trust (1990) dr. Hal Hartley
6. Donnie Darko (2001) dr. Richard Kelly
7. On The Waterfront (1954) dr. Elia Kazan
8. Monty Python & The Holy Grail (1975) dr. Terry Jones & Terry Gilliam
9. Do The Right Thing (1989) dr. Spike Lee
10. Stop Making Sense (1984) dr. Johnathan Demme
11. Trekkies (1997) dr. Roger Nygard

Up Next: Fight Club (1999) dr. David Fincher

3 comments:

Joe said...

Fun fact: "My City of Ruins" is about the ravages of genital herpes.

leo said...

I'm on the internet.

Still classic.

Unknown said...

i'm really enjoying these movie reviews...you always seem to know (and love) these obscure films and artists...reading this keeps me in the know.

-megan