American Movie

It's clear to me in reading the negative reviews that those people really missed the point of what this whole film was about. To this day, this movie remains one of my favorite documentaries of all time. The more you watch it, the more you realize that there is a little Mark Borschardt in all of us, a wild-eyed dreamer. While the realities of his life are stark and his relationships with his family and children seem dysfunctional, he is an entertaining figure with idealism that is larger than life.

Praised by some, loathed by others, this Chris Smith documentary tells the real-life story of a twenty-something, amateur filmmaker named Mark Borchardt who sets out to complete his thirty minute film "Coven", as a first step toward what he hopes will be a lifelong career in feature film-making. Working menial jobs, Mark lives at home in his parent's basement. He's deep in debt. And he has no professional experience. What he does have is idealism, enthusiasm, supreme confidence, and enormous determination and zeal. The question in my mind was: does Mark have ... talent?

Reminiscent of Michael Moore's "Roger & Me" (1989), "American Movie" is both funny and depressing. We watch Mark: write a script, cast players, direct, edit, and especially crucial in Mark's case, find funding. With every one of these tasks Mark plods along frustrated, but determined. All of these activities involve other people, including his mom, his spaced-out friend Mike, and other locals. One of these locals is his real-life Uncle Bill who looks to be in his eighties.

At one point Uncle Bill, sitting in his cluttered trailer, demands to be fed before he will consent to being filmed. Later, Mark, being a perfectionist, requires more "takes" since Uncle Bill can't seem to get it right. Mark to Uncle Bill: "You have to believe in what you're saying", to which Uncle Bill responds: "Well, I don't; I don't believe in nothing you're doing". After "take" 31, Uncle Bill rebels: "Isn't that enough now? That's all for me".

Some reviewers of "American Movie" have criticized it as pointless voyeurism into the life of a no-talent loser. They refer to Mark and his cohorts as "trailer park white trash". Certainly, that is one interpretation, and along with it the conclusion that the film is a sad commentary on the impossibility of achieving Hollywood's idea of the American Dream, when you have no money to work with.

But other reviewers find the film to be inspiring, a cinematic pep talk for the underdog, and brutally honest about the realities of indie film-making. These viewers point out that despite the fact that Mark had no money to speak of, he still completed his film "Coven", and got it shown at the local theater.

My own conclusion is that "American Movie" is a well-crafted documentary useful for first time indie filmmakers. It's similar to a TV reality show, but without the competition. The cinematography and the editing are excellent. Although I found Mark to be irritating at times and overconfident of his skills, I admired his optimism and determination. "Coven", included as an extra on the DVD, may be a cinematic train wreck. But Mark's overall experience is no less valid as a guide to others. In essence, the message of "American Movie" is: don't let this happen to you.

After seeing American Movie, you either hate Mark Borchardt or you understand him. If you are a struggling film maker trying to be the next George Romero, John Cassavetes or Alfred Hitchcock, you will understand Mark's determination and where he gets his talentless motivation. The audience that makes up American Movie is just that. Struggling film makers or die hard fans of Troma. Either way, they are all members of the club of hard knocks and non-union independent feature film. The moral of Mark's story is something short of following your dream. It's more and less than that. Whether you relate with Mark in more ways that one, Mark is living a lot of people's reality. Because of that, American Movie is important and should be watched by every film student in America.

This is a very well made documentary. I read some of the other comments and I get a feeling that a few of these viewers don't watch too many documentaries (and all the reality TV crap doesn't count). Yes, this movie is painful at times because of the ineptness of the horro film director struggling to get his pals and relatives to help him make his demonic movie. But it shows someone (however debatable his talent)following a dream, a passion, a desire to do something. To break out of his hellish life of debts, and child out of wedlock and dreary 9-5 job. The camera captures wonderful moments of human behavior and just like project Greenlight, it shows what happens when people get in over their heads with trying to just film a simple scene (or a scene where someone's head has to go through a cabinet, or an old man has to clearly say ONE line and can't, etc.) BUT, a much better documentary about the same world is the much earlier 1975 documentary Demon Lover Diary - where someone tagged along as these Michigan guys tried to make their horror film. Hard to track down but highly recommended.

The passion we see here is inspiring, and some of my favorite moments were some of the black and white shots Mark Borchardt captured for his indie film effort, rather than the comedic moments of pathos. It seems he had a real eye for framing and aesthetics, and it's a shame he wasn't on a better path than partying and then the army. If he had in the end produced a work of genius or gone on to big things this documentary would have been more interesting to me. I was pulling for him and smiling over the eccentricities of all these people, including his crusty old uncle, mentally slow but loyal burnout of a friend, sweet and patient mother, and his brutally blunt brothers. It's authentic but began to feel a little bit like a circus, where the sadness of these lives are there for our entertainment, or a celebration of mediocrity. I was engaged throughout though.