DVD Review: BEST WORST MOVIE

One of the great joys of the cinema is finding a movie that you love as much as someone else. Finding one that you love in spite of its bad reputation or dubious quality can be even better in some cases. TROLL 2 has a horde of people who fall into both camps, and have exalted it despite the fact that it’s practically unwatchable. Michael Stephenson, the child star of the movie, grew into a documentary filmmaker. He made a film about the cultural phenomenon that’s sprung up around it since the movie debuted 20 years ago. That movie, BEST WORST MOVIE, hits DVD tomorrow, and if you pirate it, I will punch you in the face until you bleed.

By Nov. 15, 2010

The most enjoyable thing about the movie is discovering where the stars and crew are now, so I won’t spoil that here. Suffice to say that some have found a new life for themselves, and others haven’t changed too much. George Hardy, who played the father in Troll 2, is undoubtably the star of the movie, and he comes of as the nicest guy in the world (which he is in person, rest assured).

[caption id=“attachment_2700” align=“aligncenter” width=“575” caption=“You can't regularly find screenings of Chaplin or Fellini films, but TROLL 2 keeps popping up across the country.”]

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Stephenson put together a film that goes beyond “where are they now”, and it digs into what creates these cultural memes from an anthropological perspective. He steps back and lets his subjects be themselves. In the interest of full disclosure, he’s a friend of the Alamo Drafthouse and we’re friends of his, but I joined the company long after I was a big fan of his movie.

The Look and Sound

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[caption id=“attachment_2701” align=“aligncenter” width=“575” caption=“An early champion of the movie and of good films of all sorts. I plugged this in here to make him blush.”]

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It’s a documentary shot on video, so it looks as good as the format permits. Anyone crying for a Blu-ray is asking for something that wouldn’t necessarily improve the thing. Don’t hold out for a Blu-ray, just get this.

The Supplements [TRT 2:51:00]

[caption id=“attachment_2702” align=“aligncenter” width=“575” caption=“Zack Carlson (L), Alamo programmer and co-author of DESTROY ALL MOVIES, and big boss man Tim League (R)”]

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Yup, that’s almost three hours of supplements on this documentary. I’m used to super-bland “I’m a genius and here I am fellating myself” featurettes on documentary DVDs. These are just great.

Extended & Deleted Scenes [TRT 1:29:00]

There’s a Play All option on these, which is great, since there are over ten individual bits. My bias notwithstanding, I enjoyed the 11-minute Rolling Roadshow-specific bit the most, where my workmates Zack, Josh, Justin, and others (including head honcho Tim League) are seen trying to rope together the beast that is one of our on-location screenings. There’s more bizarre philosophical pontificating from director Claudio Fragasso.

[caption id=“attachment_2703” align=“aligncenter” width=“575” caption=“Michael Stephenson (L), George Hardy (C), and the interviewer from Creative Screenwriting (R), whose name I didn't catch”]

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Creative Screenwriting Magazine Interview Q&A [TRT 1:22:00]

Originally featured as a podcast from Creative Screenwriting Magazine, the guy from CS interviews Michael Stephenson and George Hardy. It’s a shame that there was no video, but this is as close to a director/star commentary as you will get, and I’m perfectly happy listening to it like a radio show. Fair warning: the above image stays on the screen the entire time.

Final Thoughts

Supporting this film by buying it is not only something that goes toward supporting independent filmmakers, but indie distributors like Docurama Films, who put the DVD out there. The cover art comes from the limited-run poster that MondoTees put together for the film’s theatrical run.

Buy it from Badass Digest through Amazon for just $16.49. Best Worst Movie hits the street tomorrow (November 16th).

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