12:00- Arrived at a bustling AFI where I vaguely ask to be directed to the “shorts” program. It takes me until the moderator’s introduction to realize that I’m in the wrong theater.
12:10- I am one of the handful of people at the Albert Maysles shorts program that would was not alive when Mr. Maysles shot Gimme Shelter.
12:15- I realize that I’ve been pronounced Mr. Maysles name incorrectly an uncountable amount of times.
12:20:
Albert Mayles: Shorts Collection 1
The program consisted of 4 early shorts by Mr. Masyles and his brother David including a profile on a ballet dancer, an investigative report on psychiatric facilities in the former Soviet Union, a look at IBM in the 1960s and a performance art piece by Yoko Ono. Unavailable on DVD, each hinted at Masyles’ still developing style and his fascination for the quirks and foibles of the 20th Century American persona. It’s worth noting that Maysles began his career as a research psychologist, which explains why he’s been drawn to such enigmatic characters over the years. And like any good therapist, Maysles’ direction is never cynical or judgmental, allowing his subjects to express their own point of view rather than one being imposed upon them. The Ono piece, her passively allowing others to cut off her clothes, was introduced as “provocative in its time,” a nice way of saying that past four decades has since exposed this pseudo- slice of avant-garde cinema for the silly exercise it always was. Worth seeking out for the lone frat boy who tries to ruin the party and gets called out for being “corny.”
Verdict: Fans only
Best Worst Movie
Spoiler Alert: I have never seen Troll 2, a film that only registers in my periphery because of a college roommate’s affection for it, a gentleman whose taste does not extend past the Best Buy cut out bin (he owns a copy of the live action Super Mario Brothers movie). Yet, Michael Paul Stevenson, a former child actor who played the young son in the film, directs this documentary with such a deft sense of timing and pacing that its appeal extends well beyond the niche of hundreds that flock to Troll 2’s midnight screenings. Troll 2, a sequel to Troll that doesn’t actually involve trolls or has relation to its predecessor, is in the illustrious company of Plan 9 from Outer Space and Santa Claus Conquers the Martians as one of the worst films ever made, a fact touted in Best Worst Movie ad nauseum. While its entertainment value is never directly attributed to irony, the “it’s so bad, it’s good” excuse for Troll 2’s popularity blissfully alludes many of the film’s principle players including Claudio Fragasso, the loony Italian director who is in the habit of referring to actors as “dogs” and doesn’t understands why audiences laugh at the “less funny things” in the film. Even more delusional is the editor that believes Troll 2 paved the way for the success of the Harry Potter franchise. But despite Fragasso’s improbable luck at casting two borderline schizophrenics in his cast, the heart of Best Worst Movie lies in George Hardy, an earnest hotdog of a dentist with an aw-shucks demeanor that provides this freak show with its moral center. His realization and eventual recoiling at the dreary prospect of biding his time at novelty conventions and trade shows bucks the convention shown in similar docs that the pursuit of fame and fortune trumps everyday life. When the camera leaves Hardy, he seems genuinely happy to be back in Alexander City, Alabama cracking corny jokes with his patients. That is of course until Troll 2 Part 2 which is rumored to begin production soon.
Verdict: Theater Worthy
Check out Alan’s report # 1 here:
http://www.brightestyoungthings.com/movies/silverdocs-day-2-joe-berlinger-gets-crude/
