Best Worst Movie Hollywood Movie 2010
Documentary Movie
Michael Stephenson was a freckled and mullet-sporting 10-year-old when he appeared in Troll 2. He’s spent the two decades since trying
Best Worst Movie English Movie Review
Best Worst Movie might just be the most enjoyable film ever made about the most implausibly awful movie ever made. To be fair, there are cinematic train wrecks far worse than the straight-to-video 1990 release Troll 2 (which doesn’t feature trolls or bear any relation to the first Troll film) – what sets this celluloid gem apart is the sincerity of its cast and crew.
to erase his memory of the film’s indiscernible plot, amateurish special effects and hellaciously wooden acting. In that time, however, something curious happened. Despite (or more accurately owing to) its sheer horrificness, Troll 2 developed a fanatical cult following. In an almost cathartic exercise, Stephenson sets out to document the phenomenon.
His role as the dad in Troll 2 would be the beginning and end of his Tinseltown dreams. Stephenson uses Hardy to anchor his documentary; the likeable dentist (even his ex-wife thinks he’s great) provides a springboard for both Troll-ophiles and the uninitiated to jump straight in.
With an irrepressible smile and dose of self-depreciating humour, Hardy travels to Troll conventions around the country, where he recreates scenes and soaks up the adulation of his fans. Along the way we meet a colourful collection of groupies, as well as the cast and crew of the film, who share their own bemused recollections of the filmmaking process. Most fascinating among these is Troll 2’s Italian director Claudio Fragasso.
Fragasso is convinced his feature is a work of genius, and that feeble minded American audiences are unable to comprehend its weighty themes. It’s difficult to know if the director is hamming things up for the camera, although he certainly seems genuine. The episode in which Stephenson visits the women who played his mother – she appears to be suffering from some form of mental health issues – feels awkwardly exploitive and is perhaps the only blight on what is otherwise a good natured rollick.
There is of course a subtext here about the fleeting nature of fame and shallowness of celebrity culture. At its heart however, this documentary is about the power of cinema to bring people together and make us laugh. Even if it is for all the wrong reasons.
» Best Worst Movie [AKLD/WGTN/CHCH/DUN]
Michael Paul Stephenson | USA | 2009 | 93 min | Featuring: George Hardy, Claudio Fragasso, Margo Prey, Jason Steadman, Connie Young, Michael Paul Stephenson. For screening times in other regions, visit nzff.co.nz.
Cast And Crew
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Release Date:May 14th, 2010
Starring:* George Hardy* Michael Stephenson* Ewing*Jason Steadman*Jason Wright
Director:Michael Stephenson
Writer:Michael Stephenson
Genre:Documentary
Language:English
Country:USA