Ren Faire

Starting off this documentary, we meet this eccentric old man and his quest to find a companion and to retire by selling the Texas Renaissance Festival. Over three hours later, we're still in the same boat... George still owns the festival and is looking for a gullible companion. So what was the point? If the point was to show the world what a power hungry and sex crazed POS George is, then I guess it succeeded.

Don't expect to see any focus on the Ren Faire itself...this is nothing more than a behind the scenes look at this disgusting old man, his overly sensitive right hand man, an energy drink guzzling King wannabe, and a conniving vendor coordinator.

Why anyone would want to work for this old man is beyond me, unless they believe that he's going to hand the reigns of power over to them eventually, making them as rich as he has become in his 80 something years.

There is not a plot nor purpose to this documentary. I've wasted 3+ hours of my life watching this and I advise you to skip it.

It's crapola! Basically the filmmakers are attempting to draw the viewer into the lives of these characters and to do so they take someone like Jeff, for instance, and they direct him - and if you don't see the issue with that then I can't help you - but imo, or even by definition, when you present a subject in a documentary, and you begin to say 'ok Jeff, recreate how you would leer up at Lou and his family - really glare at them with hate in your eyes' and you see a scene where the 'documentarians' capture a candid shot of Louis family entering a meeting with George, whist Jeff looks on, and you're then utilizing several cameras to show this, but have directed and produced several of the reaction shots - well then EVERYTHING else is now in question as to its authenticity - as to whether or not the 'documentarians' (in quotes for a reason) have suggested that they have this thread where someone wants to buy the fair whilst others lobby to retain it - perhaps that was done solely for the sake of 'good tv' because after all, everyone involved in the Fair would surely benefit from a successful documentary - it's free advertising (and half of them are already performers) - - you see what I mean? Also, the whispering device as well as other audio choices, again, in my opinion, are very poor choices - but you know, that's subjective - anyway, judge for yourselves of course but bear in mind what I've suggested please.

AND POINT OF ORDER: IT'S DUBBED AS THE ORIGINAL RENFAIRE, BUT HE ADMITTEDLY STOLE THE IDEA FROM A FAIR HE ATTENDED IN SAN FRANCISCO IN THE 70s -

Update: it's so transparent how outlined the storyline is - one character is fired before the 3 month off season (but coincidentally undergoes 'weight-loss surgery') then is rehired in the spring - ask yourself where did the audio come from - that entire plot line was engineered and manufactured - ie PRODUCED

And I haven't even touched upon the problematic issue of this being a glorified dating profile for some lecherous old coot who is looking to be a sugar daddy - no hyperbole - he wants to be 'a sugar daddy' to a natural breasted millennial (or younger) - it's offensive to me that he's essentially utilizing this platform in hopes of amplifying his profile - bleh!

Not sure if the film makers are trying to paint a sympathetic portrait of a delusional megalomaniacal d-bag manchild or catering to whatever purse strings that funded it, but it's nothing more than a student film filled with fluffery and proselytizing by those seeking to gain some huge benefit by their dishonesty. I knew George for nigh on ten years and he's a creep, and I guess that's apparent, but nowhere is the mention of his child brides.

More importantly, nowhere is the mention of Toon Town, where a number of participants live, some of them year round. I realize this is a focus on the owner, but his multi-million dollar business would be nothing without all the little people who make it work. But they're just peasants, so who cares? Either they weren't asked or wisely declined to be part of this boring, pointless stroking of egos debacle.

And from the film's eventuality, one has to wonder if the entire thing wasn't a scam to push publicity and/or manipulate the players. There's an ironic phrase amongst people who work there who have realistic expectations about what the faires are like concerning the people who pathetically think of it as real life: living the dream. This film has the same pathos.

While this docu-drama is specific to this particular renaissance fair, I found Ren Faire to be fascinating, interesting, and thought provoking.

As for the first episode, the cinematography is incredible, and the director's ability to film the festival, its audience, its family of workers, and then the main storyline of succession with George, Jeff, and Louie is balanced and well-done. George and this Ren Faire are intertwined as it is George who created this particular fair and continues to rule.

After watching the first episode, I plan on going to one of these fairs because it is a world that seems, at least in this film, to be so inviting to everyone.

Ren Fairs have never had an appeal to me, so I'm probably not the audience for this mini series. Still, I like offbeat documentaries, so I gave it a shot. The premise is a power struggle for control of the biggest Renaissance Festival in the US, as the long-time owner looks to cash out, retire, and chase far younger women. So, a comedy, you may think. But no, although there are some (probably unintended) funny moments, it basically comes off as sad. If the retiring owner is really worth over 100M (as he claims on a dating site profile), why does he meet his prospective partners at Olive Garden? Other than the old guys search for a young woman with natural breasts, the funniest scene was when one of the people vying to take over the Ren Faire claims, with a straight face, that he washed out of Air Force pilot training because he flew aerobatics in an AF airplane that wasn't certified for aerobatics. Suuuuuuuuuure.

Like I said, I'm probably not the intended audience, but at the end of the series, there literally was nobody from the series that I'd want to sit through dinner with.