I got a chance to screen Jessica Watkins' comedic/reflective feature length documentary 'SPECIALish' which logs her walk across the United States over the course of 8 months. Punctuated by her standup comedy about her experience, at stops in clubs along her way. The film is self-produced by Watkins and released by Random Media.
First off, I admire Jessica for all the walking and camping she did do. Because I know for me, I'd be lucky to walk 4 hours, then I'd have to set up my tent and take a nap. By the time I awoke, it would be dark and I'd start to freak out being afraid of possible encounters of all kind: human, animal, cryptid or alien. So then I'd pack it up, call an Uber and head for the closest nice hotel. So I give big kudos to her for sticking it out as much as she did. That being said, this isn't as hardcore as Reece Witherspoon in WILD. Jessica Watkins did not walk across the entire country in 8 months. She winds up taking many breaks and detours, mainly due to family matters, but never picking up where she left off.
I'm also impressed with her self camera work. You'd swear she had a camera guy with her for much of it. She's good at being candid and revealing everything she feels along this trek, but it's never whiny or blathering. Part of what she reveals is being raped at 15 years of age. She never comes right out and says so, but part of this decision to walk by herself through often lonely terrain is to challenge the Universe to protect her this time and allow her to trust in being safe. She does begin to really loosen up part way through, meeting strangers and doing daring new things. Or perhaps secretly she wanted to put herself in jeopardy of being raped again, but being older and wiser wanted to prove to herself she'd be able to better control the outcome. Or maybe she felt it was the final step in putting that fear and rage behind her. It's hard to say, but again, I admire her bravery.
Before setting out she seems to have had time to book gigs for stops along the way, but little else was planned out. She'd done 0 training, which results in a knee injury early on. Thankfully, she turns to acupuncture. God love the healing art of acupuncture! I believe in its effectiveness 110%. In fact, I plan to go after getting fully vaccinated in order to assure my body assimilates to whatever it is that most of us are putting into our systems. But I digress... So in terms of the comedy, well... she has a Jewish sort of delivery, which is strange considering she's from Tennessee. Guess living in New York for so long, she kinda adopted the culture? She's more of a talker, than a joke teller, in the vein of "The Marvelous Mrs Maisel" only not quite as sharp and crackling. I did really like one joke she told about most Pro-lifers also being pro-deportation - she says we should just change the name from abortion to deportion. Women then could say this baby is inside me illegally, I need to deport it from my body.
