Best Worst Movie
is a love letter to Troll 2, that 1990
paragon of crappy cinema. And like all love letters, the documentary – directed
by Troll 2’s child star, Michael
Stephenson – is a warm, jovial and decidedly uncritical look at both the film
and its rabid fans. Italian director Claudio Fragasso’s pseudo horror story,
about vegetarian goblins and the bizarre family they wish to eat, has risen
from its original direct-to-video grave thanks to a so-bad-it’s-good reputation.
Stephenson certainly captures the fervor of its admirers and the embarrassment
felt by most of its cast, who at the time thought their participation in the
project was the next step to stardom rather than ignominy. The focus is most
squarely on the film’s nominal lead George Hardy, a gregarious man (now working
as a dentist in Alabama) whose enthusiasm for Troll 2’s revival comes partly from the unexpectedness of the
phenomenon, and partly from his continuing desire to realize his actor dreams.
Catching up with Fragasso (convinced his work is good) and other cast members
(some of whom are saner than others), as well as tagging along to reunion
screenings and trade shows, the doc conveys the passion of cult-film
enthusiasts while also, during its home stretch, expressing how clinging to a
work of art this lousy – no matter how endearingly lousy it is – borders on the
pathetic. In this regard, though, Best
Worst Movie doesn’t go far enough, avoiding any real examination of
over-the-top fandom and its frequent festishizing of artistic incompetence. The
“fun” of watching Troll 2 involves
condescendingly looking down on (and laughing at) it, and why so many adore
feeling superior to a cruddy B-movie remains a pertinent issue throughout. Yet
it’s one that Stephenson ultimately avoids, choosing to celebrate the film for
those few things he can (it’s sincere! It’s unique!) but never investigating
why those qualities alone warrant admiration, much less the type of fervent
zeal that’s directly led to this non-fiction tribute in the first place.
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