Review of Best Worst Movie (2009) by Trevor R — 03 Apr 2013

Stephenson's bittersweet documentary is intermittently hilarious and tender, with the charming and likeable George Hardy guiding us along. Problems arise once the movie broadens to looking at fandom as a whole-- our view gets a little cloudy and it feels as if we're being held back from fully delving into some of the more difficult themes that arise from the subject.

For example, "Troll 2" director Fragasso is painted as humorously obsessed with the seriousness of his work, but do we ever tackle the question of whether or not laughing at his him is ethical? Isn't it kinda, ya know, mean? "Best Worst Movie" settles on the perspective that such a terrible movie is worth celebrating because of it's creativity and uniqueness, but it's such a cheery and overly-optimistic view as to make things feel a bit slight (If we celebrate everything, we celebrate nothing).

Even though the movie lacks polish and perspective, I laughed a lot, I was really moved, and it was a hoot getting to see my home state in such a strange, new way.