FANTASIA 2020 Reviews - Documentary Round-Up

There were a number of interesting sounding documentaries in the Fantasia 2020 line-up, but I chose three that I felt fit with my interests best. 

Feels Good Man 
Dir. Arthur Jones, 92 Min (USA)

This follows the trials and tribulations of artist Matt Furie, the creator of, among other characters, Pepe the Frog. If you aren't aware of Pepe, perhaps you've seen the character co-opted by 4Chan as a meme icon...or, y'know, as a symbol associated with alt-right organizations and on the defamation league's list of "Hate Symbols." This mildly happy frog went from a comic character to an actual SYMBOL.  strip about peeing with your pants around your ankles to...well, whatever he is now. Symbol of hate? Symbol of unity? Symbol of freedom? Symbol of anarchy? Director Arthur Jones maintains a decent balance between showing Furie's child-like naivety and his alternately calm, inner rage towards everything. 

The film poses many questions: how late is TOO late to turn a negative symbol around? How is the internet ownership of images and meme culture something to reconcile with? How in the fuck did a crude drawing of a frog become such a polarizing, provocative figure? There are answers to some, and a lack of any ability to answer others. But the story reaches a crescendo when Furie decides not to just stand there and take it, and to try to take his creation back. With lawyers. It starts with suing Infowars guru Alex Jones, who included Pepe on a pro-Trump poster sold by his organization. The bits of the deposition that are included are hilarious. There are also attempts worldwide to turn Pepe into something positive, a move that seems more foolhardy than anything attempted by Furie and his attorneys.

Indeed, this is often a very funny story with some outlandishly serious stakes, and the film tends to have a bit of trouble deciding if this is a tragic comedy or an expose on the state of the internet and the world it's influenced so greatly. But it's incredibly fun, occasionally moving, and thought provoking.

Hail to the Deadites
Dir. Steve Villeneuve, 79 Min (Can)

Who better to make a documentary about Deadites, those devoted to all things related to Sam Raimi's Evil Dead franchise, than a Deadite himself? Director Steve Villeneuve sets out to try to capture the people who love all things Ash, what the movies mean to them, and how they've impacted their lives. The merchandise, the props, the relationships, the weddings, the cast -- all is given a little bit of time. It's clearly a labor of love to make this, and it's a light and fluffy fandom doc. 

It is a bit interesting that the movie mentions a lot about the trilogy of films, but makes little to no mention of Fede Alvarez's reboot or the three season stint of Starz's Ash Vs. The Evil Dead. Maybe because they just haven't had the time to resonate much, or maybe they just aren't that attached. At any rate, this is a fine diversion that moves by quickly. Never does it get too serious, or pretentious, or showcase some dark underbelly or shadowy side. It's just...pleasant. That's all any fandom doc ever really needs to be.

Tiny Tim: King For a Day
Dir. Johan von Sydow, 78 Min (Cro/Swe/Nor/USA)

Are you familiar with Tiny Tim? By today's standards, doubtful. Maybe best known as the man behind the memorably creepy, Insidious tune "Tiptoe Through The Tulips." But to me he's always been the long haired, warbling weirdo that got married on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show to Ms Vickie. I wasn't born until 1981, and this happened in 1969...how do I remember this? I think it's from a Carson compilation VHS series that came out after his retirement that just stuck with me. It was a cultural moment with an estimated 40-50 million viewers. But what I didn't really grasp was that he WAS this big for a few years. From being discovered and loved by the likes of Bob Dylan and Peter, Paul, and Mary, to a star making performance on Laugh In, to signing a recording contract with Reprise records and playing at festivals with up to 500,000 attendees. Tiny was on top of the world. But the fall from grace, inexplicable though it may be, and the tragic, poetic ending of his life is another revealing set of  events.

I found myself way more enthralled and invested in this than I could have possibly imagined. Having little to no real knowledge of the man beyond this mythical figure I had built in my head since childhood, Johan von Sydow's film is full of surprises and revelations, aided by many friends who remember him so fondly. One of the most interesting highlights is the narration of entries into Tiny's personal diary spaced throughout, read by 'Weird' Al Yankovic. There was a lot of darkness and insecurity underneath the surface, even while riding the highest of high waves. But the joy of performing, or maybe the sheer addiction, drove him until the very end.