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©1999-2000
DigsMagazine.com.
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flick pick |
American Movie
1999
Directed by: Chris Smith and Sarah
Price
Starring: Mark Borchardt, Mike
Schank
Language: English
Look for it at the video store under: documentary, new
release
Watch it when you’re in the mood for something: true?!?,
whimsical |
Plot synopsis
Mark Borchardt is a small-town
American filmmaker with a big American dream: to make his feature film, Northwestern,
this despite the fact that his home-base of Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin
is about as far away from Hollywood, existentially speaking, as you can
get before falling off the face of the earth. His mother, with whom he
still lives, admits that while she wishes Mark all the best, she doesn’t
really believe he’ll ever make those grand dreams come true. His
brother thinks he’s best suited to factory work. But what Mark may
lack in talent, he certainly makes up for in conviction and drive, as he
pursues friends to join his cast and crew, then hounds reluctant family
members – notably his elderly uncle Bill -- into funding his venture.
When he fails to raise enough capital to begin production on Northwestern,
he resigns himself to completing his horror short, "Coven,"
instead. (Note: That’s "coh-ven," with a long "o",
because, as Mark will tell you, "coven" sounds too much like
"oven." Duh.) During the two years that follow, personal
crises and financial difficulties plague Mark and his film, leaving all
but the ever-confident Mark himself wondering whether they’ll ever see
the end of "Coven."
Review The
most horrifying thing about American Movie has nothing to do with
the cheesy-gory clips from Borchardt’s vast body of horror movie work.
Nope, what scared the bejeezus out of me was this inescapable truth:
Mark Borchardt is a real person. Yikes. His own brother confesses that
he wouldn’t be surprised to find out Mark was a stalker. And yet,
other people saw this movie and walked away admiring the guy! Thank the
filmmakers, who do an admirable job of withholding judgment, and letting
the audience come to their own conclusions. What could have easily
turned into a mean-spirited, make-fun-of-the-dumb-hick-with
-the-bad-hair documentary is, in fact, something far more funny,
subtle and interesting: a look at how a true eccentric can, in his own
curious way, fit right into his small-town America environment. Mark’s
indisputably a loser – for god’s sake, he’s got three kids and still
lives with mom, and those glasses! whose grandma did he steal those
from? – but he’s a loser that's loved. There’s something oddly
heartwarming about the fact that despite their utter lack of faith in
Mark’s so-called "vision," his friends and family still go
to great lengths to do whatever they can to support him in his
endeavors. Particularly endearing is Mark’s faithful sidekick Mike,
whose laidback, I’ve-done-too-many-drugs-in-the-past spaciness – and
surprisingly not-sucky guitar playing -- are a pleasant relief from Mark’s
high-strung ramblings.o
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