Class Action Park

Let's get the obvious out of the way - do NOT watch this before going on vacation. As a documentary, it's just OK, but the events discussed here are absolutely mind-boggling. It's practically impossible to comprehend what was allowed to happen at Action Park, and it's equally unfathomable to understand why anyone would frequent this place considering its reputation and the fact that PEOPLE HAVE DIED HERE. You know, life is too precious to risk life and limb by testing a shoddy water slide for a hundred bucks. As angry as I was at the people responsible for Action Park, I found myself just as angry at the people who stood in line and made it popular. The film itself is very one-sided, which is the kiss of death for a documentary. There's a lot of placing blame and not a lot of accepting responsibility. It all gets to be a little monotonous after a while, and, with the exception of a couple scenes, I felt like it takes the subject a bit too lightly. It's definitely worth a look - there were times my jaw was practically on the floor. But, again, don't watch it before vacation.

Back in 1990, I was taking a bunch of summer camp kids on a day trip to Action Park. Being from the UK, I'd never heard of the place or even the concept of a waterpark. It didn't take me long to discover that Action Park was possibly the greatest amusement park on the planet. I was so in love with it that at the end of summer camp, I drove back down there and landed a job as a lifeguard, which by all accounts wasn't a difficult feat.

So, yes, this documentary was an immense nostalgia trip for me and when I heard rumors and later saw early previews, I became incredibly excited for the release. My only fear was that it would disappoint and fall flat, as these things so often do after you've built them up in your mind and romanticized the memories.

Fortunately, my fears were completely unfounded. This documentary absolutely nails it, from the content to the commentary, from the crazy risk of the rides to the ultimate reward of immeasureable fun. Chris Gethard provides a fun, familiar and accurate historical narrative blended with contemporary perspective, which asks in hindsight, how this was allowed to go on for so long!? Other talking heads with first hand experience enrich the story with extraordinary tales of their own. And there's plenty of archive video footage to send you right back to the 80s and 90s.

If you weren't "lucky" enough to be embedded in this wacky world, you'd be forgiven for thinking a pinch of salt is required when listening to some of the anecdotes but from my own time working at the resort over the course of several seasons, I can testify to the complete credibility of the Action Park story as presented here. Working on the Tarzan swing, I'd need to rescue ten or more kids a day who despite the warnings, "the water is ice cold... if you're not an excellent swimmer, do not attempt this ride", would happily risk death and launch themselves into the abyss. Then there were the others who were too scared to let go and would swing back into the platform.

My favorite quote that sums up the entire film is "this was the last decade of unsupervised fun for kids". There is inevitable tragedy in this account of a legendary waterpark that simply couldn't exist in given today's standards for safety. For a "survivor" like myself, it raises the philosophical question, "Sure, we live in a safer world but at what cost"?

Growing up going to Action Park, this place was definitely unsafe. This documentary nails it, and I was fortunate enough to be young enough to be too scared to do some of the crazy acrobatic stunts teenagers would be doing. All in all, I recommend this documentary to get an inside perspective of a kid/teenager growing up in NJ during the 80's and early 90's.

Being the same age as the guy who did a lot of the talking, I do remember those "good ole days" (mine were spent at Six Flags personally) but I felt that they spent a lot of time kind of glorifying the owner who seemed like a total tool! There is nothing awesome about being a sneaky prick who doesn't care if people died. Scrapes and "the orange spray" I can ride with that. Missing teeth, drowning, concussions, electrocution, drowning...no. That should not be happening and should not be a something that you should expect when you go to have fun. Like why? I didn't know who Gene was until today and I am just so glad I've never met anyone like him. I don't think I'd even be honored to be related to the guy! Yeah he was innovative and a risk taker, but do that shiz without risking people's lives! That is nothing to be proud of At ALL! I enjoyed it for what it was, but I am unsettled. To me he is a serial killer in disguise.

This is better than I was expecting. Very funny and unbelievable in parts. Not documentary of the year by any means, but very entertaining.

The ending reveals dark consequences for all the unruly fun.