Tag: Documentary

UNDEFEATED – The Review

This past February, UNDEFEATED took home the Best Documentary Feature Oscar. The film tells the story of a feisty, focused coach determined to end the losing streak of a football team from a school that’s seen better days. The prime example of this plot would go all the way back to 1940 with KNUTE ROCKNE, ALL AMERICAN and continue through to the more recent REMEMBER THE TITANS and WE ARE MARSHALL. So it might be more than a bit familiar. And the documentary techniques are not ground-breaking. We’re basically a fly on the wall observing the start of the new season.  But what observations! There’s just as much drama and suspense here as in any big Hollywood ” based on true events” flick. You don’t have to be a pigskin fanatic to be enthralled with these people. Perhaps you may identify with one or two of the principals even if you never took to the field.

UNDEFEATED chronicles the Fall 2009 football season at Manassas High School of West Memphis Tennessee. The area around the school has been hit hard by the economic down-turn. The neighborhoods are filled with boarded-up, abandoned houses, piles of garbage, and drug dealers on nearly every corner. The school’s football team ( as Colbert would call them, ” the fightin’ Tigers” ) is almost in the same sad shape as those mean streets. In some recent seasons the team went without a single win. Hoping to reverse the trend is Head Varsity Football Coach Joe Courtney. He’s the owner of a big lumber company who’s had a love of the game since childhood. We see him spending the early morning hours supervising his business then zipping over to the school to roam the halls and do some on the run recruiting ( ” Got a nice jersey just for you! “). He’s a big, jovial guy ( kind of a cross between Kevin James and the much missed John Candy ) who’s often the only white face roaming the hallways. With racial issues filling the news today, the film presents a great portrait of respect and co-operation. Courtney loves his team, but feels guilt pangs over the time away from his own kids. He blows his top sometimes, but he’s always there when his players have a problem.

Speaking of players, the film focuses on three members of the Tigers. The most promising, gifted player may be the gentle giant O.C. Brown. He’s got the size to take out the competition, but unlike most husky guys, O.C. has the speed. We see him clearing a path for the running back to score and running alongside. College scouts have started to sniff around. The only thing that O.C. can’t seem to break through is his studies, particularly the all-important SAT tests. Because he and his grandmother live in such a rough part of town, no tutors will venture there, so the coach came up with a plan. O.C. will live with the family of one of the coaching staff during the school week. After class and practice, the tutors will work with him there. The opulent suburbs are a completely foreign world to the big, sweet-natured young man ( reminiscent of THE BLIND SIDE, except he’s back with Grandma’ on the weekends ).

While O.C.’s a man of few words, his team-mate Motrail ‘Money” Brown, has the gift of gab. Money’s got big plans, but unfortunately he’s one of the shortest guys on the squad ( ala’ RUDY ). He spends most of the game begging to be sent in. His story might be the most affecting. He’s an easy-going, ambitious guy, who’s pals with the team’s loose cannon Chavis Daniels. We first meet Chavis as he returns to school after 15 months in a youth detention facility. He’s got an explosive temper and lashes out unexpectedly. Courtney’s got his hands full dealing with this angry young man’s blow-ups. The coach wrestles with Chavis’s behavior. How many chances does he get? Can football channel all his pent-up emotions. Or will he be swallowed up by the streets? It’s a wrenching dilemma.

What comes across in the film is a need by most of the team, including the coach, for a male authority figure. In an emotional confession Courtney talks about his father walking out of his life as a toddler. After finding some joy in football, he’d be filled with sadness watching his team mates leaving the field with their dads ( one hand on his son’s shoulders, the other carrying his boy’s helmet and pads ). We see the profiled players with mothers, aunts, and grandmothers, but rarely with male relatives. This not to say the film is full of gloom. Included are many small victories ( I won’t reveal how the season ended ), a major setback for one player, and an act of incredible kindness that may have you reaching for your hankie ( unless your veins are filled with ice water! ). As I said earlier, no ground-breaking documentary techniques here. No re-creations, no graphs, no animations. It’s similar to the format now adopted for TV sitcoms like ” The Office ” and ” Modern Family “. Except there’s very few seated confessionals or interviews here. Everyone’s always on the move, particularly Coach Courtney. I never threw on the pads and helmet at school, but I was delighted to spend some time with this team. Any teenager mentored by Coach Courtney is a winner, no matter what the scoreboard reads.

Overall Rating : 5 Out of 5 Stars

ADDICTION INCORPORATED – The Review

The new motion picture ADDICTION INCORPORATED is part of a unique group of documentaries in that it’s essentially a small budget prequel to a big studio prestige docudrama of several years ago : Michael Mann’s THE INSIDER. The multi-Oscar nominated flick told the true tale of whistle-blower Jeffrey Wigand ( he’s involved in this new film, too ) who revealed to network news producers ( CBS’s ” 60 Minutes ” to be exact ) that tobacco companies were using special additives to cigarettes to make them more addictive ( the film referred to ‘ spiking ‘ ). After viewing the Al Pacino/ Russell Crowe work, you may have wondered how ‘ big tobacco ‘ happened upon this formula. Well wonder no more! Film maker Charles Evans, Jr. has given us all the facts, figures, numbers, and testimonies anchored by one man’s desire to deliver the facts.

That man is scientist Victor DeNoble and most of this film chronicles his 30 year journey from classrooms through private company research labs to the halls of congress and courtrooms returning finally to the halls of academia. DeNoble was plucked out of college to work a high paying job in the research division of tobacco giant Phillip Morris. PM wanted to find a way to replace or severely reduce nicotine since it seems to promote heart attacks and other fatal maladies in their customers ( gotta’ keep em’ alive to keep on buying the product! ). A red flag should have popped up when Victor and his fellow scientists were allowed to use rats for this study ( the companies had mutually agreed that there would be no animal testing ). In trying to approximate cigarette usage in the rats, they found that nicotine combined with another chemical, acetaldehyde, to make the tobacco more addictive ( in the mornings the rats would go right to the nicotine delivery pedal forgoing food and water ). After their findings were presented to the company’s board of directors, the research was halted and the scientists were out of PM headquarters and worked on a freelance basis ( as opposed to being part of the in-house staff ). . Several years later someone gets this info to ABC ( specifically the producers of the late prime-time news magazine ” Day One ” ) which leads to congressional hearings and multi-state lawsuits. This draws in DeNoble and his ex-colleagues who must make many life-changing decisions concerning their past employers and their future.

Evans keeps the film moving at a brisk pace and does his best to avoid miring us in too much scientific jargon. Some of the story telling techniques trip up the film somewhat. Animation of the lab rats is useful in illustrating the study’s research methods, but later on things get a bit too whimsical when the rats are further anthropomorphized into humans with tails, large, wide noses, and pointed ears drifting down a tranquil lake, floating on a raft like Huck Finn. I suppose it’s to illustrate a blissful nicotine high, but it takes us out of the story’s flow ( especially when several ‘ rat people ‘ have an old-fashioned moonlight dance ). Things get back on track quickly after some crude ” Mad Men”- type seventies era recreated sequences. The use of real TV footage ( great timing to have a 90’s clip of a blustery Rush Limbaugh ), newspaper headlines, and current interviews of the principals involved ( you basic doc talking heads ) proves quite enlightening. Like most fiction films, this benefits from the a strong hero ( DeNoble, appropriate moniker! ) and an even stronger villain: big tobacco. Like Ed Harris’s evil businessman in MAN ON A LEDGE, these guys come off as arrogant, sneaky, and very hiss-able. We get that classic news shot of the major company representatives swearing-in before Congress, then almost in unison claiming ignorance of their product’s additive qualities. Just amazing. Finally they were vulnerable to lawsuits that their powerhouse legal team had crushed for so many years. So vulnerable that they all almost went under! ADDITION INCORPORATED is a surprisingly entertaining tribute to investigative journalism. And be sure to stick around for the pre-end credits coda for an update on Mr. D. It’s a twist that would make O Henry smile

Overall Rating : 4 Out of 5 Stars

ADDICTION INCORPORATED plays exclusively in the St. Louis area at the Tivoli theatre

BEING ELMO – The Review

Countless movies over the years have dealt with the exploits of fictional characters that have brought things to life-from Doctors Frankenstein to Herbert West ( the Re-Animator flicks ). With the new documentary BEING ELMO we learn about a real-life re-animator named Kevin Clashwho,instead of body parts or mechanical men, gives life to stitched together bits of foam and felt. More importantly, he’s the guy behind the pre-K superstar of Sesame Street, Elmo.

Clash’s journey to that TV street began on a real, urban street in Baltimore in the early 1970’s. He was fascinated by puppets and marionettes and was encouraged by his family ( his father was not upset that he used the lining of his trench coat for one of his first puppet creations ). Entertaining the children in his mother’s day-care service in the back yard ( a blanket tossed over the clothes line was his stage ) to cheering up kids at hospitals and schools, Clash soon made a name for himself in the area. Word reached the local TV stations and soon he was an integralpart of a local kids’ show. They helped put him in touch with Robert Keeshan, who brought Clash on board his long-running ” Captain Kangaroo “. Of course the big superstar of puppetry those days was Muppet mastermind Jim Henson. After catching a TV showabout the making of his characters, Clash set about meeting the designer and engineer of the Muppets, Kermit Love. Thanks to his mother making many phone calls, Clash met the puppet wizard during a highschool NYC field trip. This lead to the syndicated TV kids’ show ” The Great Space Coaster” , and finally, once the Captainand the Coaster left the airwaves, to Henson’s staff. After working on the feature film LABYRITH, Clash became one of the main Muppet performers on ” Sesame Street “. After toiling away with a number of Street residents, one of the other muppeteerstossed him a red, furry, orange-nosed monster character ( who he had voiced as a caveman-type ) and said, ” See what you can do with this!”. Clash brainstormed and soon came up with a mischievous, affectionate, five-year-old charmer that captured the hearts of tykes everywhere. Clash had finally found his foam and felt perfect alter-ego, Elmo.

BEING ELMO is an engaging story that, not only tells of the joy of performing and being encouraged by a supportive family, but also gives many examples of the benfits ofpaying-it-forward. Clash gets lots of advice from the local Baltimore TV crew, then Kermit Love, and finally Henson andhis Muppet team. Soon, Clash is passing his wisdom and skills to performersof the foreign versions of Sesame and, finally, a wide-eyed, pre-teen puppeteer. The film is sparsely narrated by Whoopi Goldberg. Clash mostly tells his own story in interviews with the film makers, and extensive footage from past TV news stories about him ( some great scenes from the old TV show ” The Big, Blue Marble” ) and behind the scenes featurettes. surprisinglywe see some clips from Henson’s memorial service in 1990. And, the film does address the whole ” Tickle Me Elmo” mania that swept the country a few years back. Clash seems a bit stunned by this, but he’s truly touched by the impact that he’s made on children. We see him welcoming an ailing little girl and her family to the Street set in a touching sequence. Seems that a visit to their little furry friend is a popular request at the Make-A-Wish Foundation. There’s many interviews with other performers and family members, but some of his adult personal life is glossedover a bit. After seeing home video of his wife headed to the hospital to give birth, we don’t hear about her until a few moments later when she’s referred to as an ex-wife. There’s many scenes of Clash regretting being an absentee father to his daughter and then many clips from her big sweet sixteen party. These are many quibbles. BEING ELMO is a charming film that celebrates a determined, gifted man who, thanks to hard work and encouraging mentors, found an outlet to hare his love and joy, and made all his young dreams come true. It’s a story that should touch ( and tickle ) even the most cynical filmgoers.

Overall Rating : Four Out of Five Stars

INTO THE ABYSS – The Review

 

The application of the death penalty in the sentencing of criminal cases has been an issue that continues to divide this country. A few months ago, at one of the many GOP presidential debates, the moderator noted the number of executions performed while Rick Perry was governor of Texas. This elicited gales of wild applause from the debate audience, while many pundits were shocked at the reaction. For his latest feature film documentary, director Werner Herzog traveled to that state to take a closer look at this divisive topic by focusing in on a horrific crime and the two young men who were brought to justice and met very different fates.

In the small, sleepy town of Conroe, Texas Michael Perry and Jason Burkett were found guilty in the death of Sandra Stotler, her teenage son, and his school pal. It seemed that Perry and Burkett shot the three for a few dollars, charge cards, and their almost-new cars. The two were arrested following a desperate shoot out at a gas station. Herzog interviews ( the film maker is always just off camera ) Perry as he is just days away from the lethal injection that will end his life. He appears smiling. affable, and ready to meet his maker although he still confesses his innocence in the actual slayings ( both men accuse the other of being the trigger-man ). Burkitt has received a life sentence perhaps thanks to a heartfelt plea from his incarcerated father ( he’s also interviewed ). Friends and acquaintances of the two men are also interviewed along with the prison chaplain and the man who must prepare the condemned for that walk to the death chamber. Thankfully Herzog also speaks with those left behind -the devastated ex-con older brother of one of the slain young men and the emotionally scarred daughter and sister of the Stotlers. She’s so traumatized by the murders that she refuses to have a telephone number for fear of receiving  tragic news once again.

Herzog has constructed a somber investigative film that has elements we’ve encountered in fiction films in recent years. The chaplain shares some of the beliefs espoused in DEAD MEN WALKING, while the death row coordinator is similar to Billy Bob Thorton’s MONSTER’S BALL character. I couldn’t help but also be reminded of Errol Morris’s THE THIN BLUE LINE which helped free Randall Adams from death row. There’s no question of the guilt of these two men, however. Herzog shows the injustice of the justice system in the sentencing of the two. He uses news reports, police crime scene video, and title cards to take us through the murders. The interviews are basically talking head shots against familiar settings. It takes a little getting used to the questions asked in that soft German accent and the subjects answers in their thick Texas twangs. Herzog is able to put them at ease and get great candid replies. He also likes to cut the sound and lets the camera linger on the interviewees in silence with the mournful score accompanying. At the end it seems that something is lacking in this film. We are never really taken inside the heads of these two men and helped to understand why they turned to violence. Perry is particularly an enigma. We never get to hear from any close friends or relatives. The film seems to be a more artful and longer version of the true crime docudramas that fill the network’s weekend schedule. The subject ( and the victim’s families ) deserve much more.

Overall Rating: Three and a Half Out of Five Stars

 

 

THE MAN NOBODY KNEW – SLIFF Review

Upon the death of a parent a son or daughter will often spend hours and hours sifting through the deceased’s artifacts. Such is the case with Carl Colby, but with a couple of notable exceptions. His father William Colby was for many years the director of the CIA. And Carl has put together a documentary about him called THE MAN NOBODY KNEW : IN SEARCH OF MY FATHER, CIA SPYMASTER WILLIAM COLBY. The film serves as a look at a post WWII family and an overview of American foreign relations. As the film opens the camera pans over the contents of senior Colby’s top dresser drawer as the soundtrack plays various news reports about his mysterious disappearance while in a canoe. We’re then taken back to his entry into WWII as a paratrooper prior to volunteering for the OSS. This is illustrated with newsreel footage and personal family photos. With his slight build and spectacles, Colby seems to be an unlikely secret agent ( he’s looks like a cross between Wally Cox and Harold Lloyd ). At wars’ end he marries, starts a family, and begins his work overseas, first in Italy to prevent the country from going Communist. The photos and footage are quite startling pared up with comments from friends and historians. From there it was off to a very long stint in Southeast Asia, particularly Vietnam, at the request of President Kennedy. After the US withdrawal we get to see and hear Colby as he testified about the agency’s activities before a Senate committee. He remains calm and cool as he’s relentlessly grilled by many different members of Congress. Colby’s refusal to stonewall them soon lead to his removal by President Ford, who replaced him with George H.W. Bush. Carl Colby includes many interviews with newsmakers from the time periods from newsman Daniel Shorr to Donald Rumsfeld. The viewer gets the impression that the film lead to a better understanding of his father for the film maker, but in many aspects William Colby remains an enigma. This documentary offers a unique perspective on our government’s hand in other countries politics while also telling the story of a man coming to terms with his family’s past.

Showtimes
Saturday, November 19th at 3:00pm – Webster University/Moore Auditorium

THE GRAY SEASONS – SLIFF Review

THE GRAY SEASONS was originally reviewed during the St. Louis Filmmaker’s Showcase.

The title of Robert Herrera’s compelling new documentary THE GRAY SEASONS does not refer to overcast skies nor the tones of the exceptional black and and white photography. It’s main focus is Shimmy Gray-Miller, the young woman hired to overhaul the St. Louis University Lady Billikens basketball program starting starting in 2006. The title seasons are the four following that start, through 2010.Before she arrives the record of the team is dismal, so Coach Gray-Miller begins building from the ground up by recruiting star players from high schools all across the country.

The film focuses on this small group of young women as the coach,with her assistants, try to establish a new winning dynasty. With the opening of their new home facility, the Chafetz Arena, hopes are running high. Over the course of these four years staff and administration change as Gray-Miller tries to connect with her talented players. There’s lots of footage in the locker room as she spurs them on and later during the grueling early morning practice sessions. It’s jarring to see the nearly empty bleachers at the games-even the big tournaments.

It seems that the men continue to fill the stands and command media attention. Perhaps that will change soon because of dedicated players and coaches like the women profiled here. By the time the four seasons wind down few of the players from 2006 remain. As Coach Gray-Miller says, “This isn’t HOOSIERS.” Still, THE GRAY SEASONS is just as enlightening and inspiring.

Showtimes
Tuesday, November 15th at 6:30pm – Tivoli Theatre

JANE’S JOURNEY – SLIFF Review

Few people living today have my respect as highly as Jane Goodall. If you want an exemplary case of one person who has devoted her life selflessly to a cause greater than herself, she would rank highly on that list. For this reason alone, I was ecstatic to find out someone had made a film about her life.

JANE’S JOURNEY is a 2010 documentary written and directed by Lorenz Knauer, a film that chronicles Jane Goodall’s life from her roots as a little girl in the UK to her ongoing campaigns of present day. From a strictly biographical, informative perspective, this is a valuable and enjoyable film.

You may sense, however, the eminent presence of a “but” looming in the near future. If so, you would be correct. JANE’S JOURNEY offers a wonderful encyclopedic reference of the fascinating woman, tracing her many accomplishments and contributions. Even more fascinating is that Goodall did this all out of passion. She had no degree or specialized training when she first ventured to Africa in the early ‘60s as a very young woman. That alone took some bravery.

On the other hand, JANE’S JOURNEY feels a bit long and drawn out. Even at merely 111 minutes, the film feels as though its stretching the topic, when no stretching is truly needed. There are definitely areas of the film that could have been tightened up, and while the celebrity interviews theoretically offer added credibility to Goodall’s reputation, they really were not necessary, offering little more than fluff.

JANE’S JOURNEY is an exquisitely photographed film, capturing the beauty of the wild and foreign land she came to know as her home, as well as many moments of her with the chimpanzees she came to consider family. However, the structure and pacing of the film cause it to feel like a television special on the Biography or History Channels.

While Jane Goodall began her unique career in conservation focused on the endangered chimpanzees, JANE’S JOURNEY does venture into her work as a humanitarian as well. This only makes sense, when we consider that our lives and the lives of the species we endanger, as well as the environment we destroy – the same environment that wildlife calls home – are all clearly interconnected.

As a timeline of Jane Goodall’s life, the film succeeds triumphantly, but as a moving, emotional cinematic experience, JANE’S JOURNEY falls short. With such a captivating subject, and with all that’s happening in our world today, the film could potentially reach the hearts and minds of so many unemployed, underprivileged and unaware citizens, if only the film had a bit more heart and identity of its own.

Regardless, JANE’S JOURNEY is a wonderfully thoughtful documentation of one of the greatest women alive today and deserves to be seen by everyone possible. Her ideas and her concerns affect us all, whether we want to believe and accept it or not.

Showtimes
Monday, November 14th at 7:00pm – Plaza Frontenac Cinema

THE INTERRUPTERS – SLIFF Review

THE INTERRUPTERS was originally reviewed on September 9th, 2011.

Every day thousands of people across the nation grit their teeth in frustration while reading the daily papers and weekly news magazines. Many more clench their fists against their armchairs while watching local TV news broadcasts. It seems the country (or, state or home city) is going to “Hell in a hand basket!” But they’re not part of the government-what can they do? Film maker Steve James (HOOP DREAMS) and author/producer Alex Kottlowitz addresses this dilemma in the powerful new documentary THE INTERRRUPTERS. the individuals profiled here, armed only with their wits and a cell phone, may be the most heroic action stars that you’ll see in the cinemas this year.

THE INTERRUPTERS documents the effort of an organization called CeaseFire to stem the rising tide of the youth violence (particularly in the south side of Chicago). As the title suggests these people, men and women ranging in age from their early ’20s through their ’50s, step in during heated altercations and attempt to restore calm before fists (and rocks,bottles,knives, and guns) strike out. We first meet the group’s founder, epidemiologist Gary Slutkin, a man who traveled the globe battling disease and now wants to eradicate the disease of violence that is ravaging the community

One of the main Chicago co-ordinators, Tio Hardiman the creator of the “Violence Interrupters” program, meets the street team at a large table and helps map out trouble spots where they must concentrate their efforts. Like most of the Ceasefire members Hardiman’s youth involved gangs and crime. The film follows the team during a brutal year on those mean streets and focuses on three of these people trying to make a difference. While much of the work is with the African-American neighborhoods, the film spends some time with a former Latino gang member, Eddie Bocanegra ,who takes us to the spot where he took a life many years ago. He then conducts an art class with children at an inner city grade school that helps them deal with their fears. Later Eddie interacts with a family who lost their fifteen year old son to a stray bullet. We observe their daily gathering at his grave site and hear his younger sister tell of how he died in her arms.

The most charismatic and vocal of the trio is Ameena Mathews, daughter of legendary gang leader Jeff Fort, who is one of the first CeaseFire workers to step in (near the the start of the film she tries to diffuse a fight right outside their offices). She tells of her time as a party girl and how the party ended when she was shot. Her struggle to reach out to a troubled nineteen year old girl, is full of setbacks and small victories. The busiest of the group may be Cobe Williams, who seems to doing a variation of the old plate-spinning act. He attempts to reconcile a single mother and her two teenage sons who belong to rival gangs. Then he’s doing his best to cool off a street hustler known as “Flamo” (ironically enough) who seeks revenge on whoever called the police on his family home (Mom was put in handcuffs while his wheelchair-bound brother was taken to the station). Finally he picks up a young seventeen year old after serving two years for armed robbery. After a tearful reunion with his sisters and kid brother, Cobe takes him to the barber shop he and his gang had robbed in order to apologize to his victims. Soon they’re trying to score a job for him . Unfortunately, it seems that the CeaseFire team is always on the move with ver few breaks.

Like HOOP DREAMS James lets the participants guide the stories. There’s no flashy graphics, recreations,and animation in this portrait of a community in turmoil. James’s camera where there when the fatal beating of high schooler Derrion Albert made the national news after a grainy video of his murder hit the Internet. The CeaseFire team swoops in and stays with the family as the national media quickly moves on. There is some use of local TV news clips and newspaper headlines along with family photos and videos. The most haunting images maybe the piles of stuffed toys and makeshift posters and cards on street corners where a slaying has recently occurred. This film has more tension that the last five Hollywood thrillers combined. The team is determined not to use violence, but unfortunately they get caught in the crossfire. There’s no magic force field that protects them. In one scene Tio Hardiman is overcome with emotion when visiting an interrupter was was shot in the back while walking away from a street fight he thought had ended. With all this misery, THE INTERRUPTERS leaves you with a great belief in the good of humanity. Along with this horrific tales of carnage, there are stories of redemption, courage, and forgiveness. But they have little time to celebrate those little victories. The street is calling. But, maybe… someday.

Showtimes
Sunday, November 13th at 1:00pm – Wildey Theatre

CONFIDENCE MAN: THE HUGH DENEAL STORY – SLIFF Review

This film begins with a scene familiar to fans of  documentaries about music groups. Hugh DeNeal and his band mates are in a car cruising down the highway. No doubt on their way to their next gig. No, not this time. They’re on their way to Leavenworth Kansas so Hugh may turn himself in. This is one of many surprises in CONFIDENCE MAN : THE HUGH DENEAL STORY. As the title suggests Hugh is the main focus of the film. We follow him growing up in a small town in southern Illinois. He seemed to drift until his brother inspired him to pursue a music career. The brothers and some friends formed the Woodbox Gang with Hugh as lead vocalist and author of their most popular songs in the ” caustic acoustic” American genre. His lyrics were powerful and compelling. The Gang toured the country and attracted the attention of former Dead Kennedy band member Jello Biafra, who signed them to his Alternative Tentacles music label.  But the money was not coming in fast enough for Hugh.

Now with your typical “behind the music” type story this is where drugs would come in to break up the band. Not quite. DeNeal decided to try and make extra cash from an internet investment scheme that involved blank T-shirts which unraveled into a classic “Ponzi scheme.”  The film documents this downward spiral with lots of interviews with friends, law-enforcement officers, family and, most revealing, DeNeal himself. Inter-cut is plenty of entrancing footage of the band’s wild performances that sent audience into a frenzy (the great lyrics are printed out too). This is a film that’s a profile of gifted musicians and a cautionary tale of greed and corruption.

Showtimes
Saturday, November 12th at 8:00pm – Wildey Theatre

DYING TO DO LETTERMAN – SLIFF Review

Growing up we’re always told that it’s important to set goals, to follow your dreams. But what if you were given a time limit to achieve these (shorter than your expected life span). This is the dramatic theme in the new documentary DYING TO DO LETTERMAN. The film follows the journey of a likable professional stand-up comedian in his thirties by the name of Steve Mazan. Growing up his comedy hero was David Letterman, so his goal was to do his act on Dave’s show. Then the fates threw him a curve. His doctor told him that he had cancerous tumors on his liver. Inoperable. Worst case scenario- he had maybe  five, six years. Instead of plopping on the coach and bemoaning his fate, Mazan focused in on his Letterman Show dream with a vengeance. After asking his comedy club audiences to email the show, he gets an official letter from NYC. One of the Letterman producers tells him that it’s not gonna’ happen-they’re not in the business of granting wishes. This news just makes Mazn more determined. He doesn’t want to get on the show because he’s sick. He wants to earn it by being funny. Trouble is that his wait time could be very brief.

What could’ve been a grim story becomes a tale of hope and laughter. His girlfriend of only a few months becomes a great source of strength as she decides to stay with him and tries to  follow her dreams also. We get a look at how comedians work up their act and massage their jokes to perfection. Mazan gets a lot of help from a couple of comic pals and gets some advice from several Letterman vets (Jim Gaffigan, Kevin Nealon, Brian Regan, and Ray Romano, whose Letterman stint turned into a huge sitcom). He also gets  a pep talk from the late, great Robert Shimmel (perhaps his last interview before he succumbed to cancer). This film is an uplifting story that will give you a great insight into the lives of the men and women who grab a mike, deal with rowdy drunks, and follow their hearts  no matter what life throws at them.

Showtimes
Saturday, November 12th at 2:15pm – Plaza Frontenac Cinema