American Movie follows the extraordinarily mediocre life and work of Midwest filmmaker Mark Borchardt. Think: "Waiting for Guffman" meets "Ed Wood" with just a pinch of "Wayne's World" thrown in for good measure. But this pic isn't a comedy or a drama. It's a documentary!! As such, it lacks some of the kinetic energy that we've grown accustomed to feeling in a film. (Translation: some of you might get bored.)
On the other hand, there are moments that are so outrageously hysterical, no comedy writer could ever dream them up. If you saw it in an SNL spinoff movie, you'd groan and roll your eyes and say "no way!". But it's real and it's there and you have to deal with it. That's the beauty of this film. Through some act of god, filmmakers Sarah Price and Chris Smith were there to capture these moments for posterity.
American Movie isn't all giggles, though. For two hours, you are transported into an emotionally dysfunctional, financially strapped, substance abusing realm of Americana (more commonly referred to as white trash). Protagonist Mark Borchardt speaks with great passion and eloquence about his dreams and his craft, but it doesn't take long for you to realize that he's probably not going anywhere very fast.
The sad part is that he knows he's in a low place, he's desperate to move up and he applies himself and makes great sacrifices toward his dream. Unfortunately, it's very difficult to imagine Mark and his friends ever doing anything but living with their parents, working bottom rung jobs, fighting with their ex-girlfriends and drinking lots of booze with some regularity.
Like I said before, the film isn't exactly lightning paced, but it's real in a way that most fiction pics can't touch. I'd also call it warm, affectionate, interesting and thought-provoking. Add some absolutely brutal laughs, and you get a nice bang for your moviegoing buck. Don't wait until they do a remake with Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts. Please see the original.