American Movie

After seeing American Movie, you either hate Mark Borchardt or you understand him. If you are a struggling film maker trying to be the next George Romero, John Cassavetes or Alfred Hitchcock, you will understand Mark's determination and where he gets his talentless motivation. The audience that makes up American Movie is just that. Struggling film makers or die hard fans of Troma. Either way, they are all members of the club of hard knocks and non-union independent feature film. The moral of Mark's story is something short of following your dream. It's more and less than that. Whether you relate with Mark in more ways that one, Mark is living a lot of people's reality. Because of that, American Movie is important and should be watched by every film student in America.

Praised by some, loathed by others, this Chris Smith documentary tells the real-life story of a twenty-something, amateur filmmaker named Mark Borchardt who sets out to complete his thirty minute film "Coven", as a first step toward what he hopes will be a lifelong career in feature film-making. Working menial jobs, Mark lives at home in his parent's basement. He's deep in debt. And he has no professional experience. What he does have is idealism, enthusiasm, supreme confidence, and enormous determination and zeal. The question in my mind was: does Mark have ... talent?

Reminiscent of Michael Moore's "Roger & Me" (1989), "American Movie" is both funny and depressing. We watch Mark: write a script, cast players, direct, edit, and especially crucial in Mark's case, find funding. With every one of these tasks Mark plods along frustrated, but determined. All of these activities involve other people, including his mom, his spaced-out friend Mike, and other locals. One of these locals is his real-life Uncle Bill who looks to be in his eighties.

At one point Uncle Bill, sitting in his cluttered trailer, demands to be fed before he will consent to being filmed. Later, Mark, being a perfectionist, requires more "takes" since Uncle Bill can't seem to get it right. Mark to Uncle Bill: "You have to believe in what you're saying", to which Uncle Bill responds: "Well, I don't; I don't believe in nothing you're doing". After "take" 31, Uncle Bill rebels: "Isn't that enough now? That's all for me".

Some reviewers of "American Movie" have criticized it as pointless voyeurism into the life of a no-talent loser. They refer to Mark and his cohorts as "trailer park white trash". Certainly, that is one interpretation, and along with it the conclusion that the film is a sad commentary on the impossibility of achieving Hollywood's idea of the American Dream, when you have no money to work with.

But other reviewers find the film to be inspiring, a cinematic pep talk for the underdog, and brutally honest about the realities of indie film-making. These viewers point out that despite the fact that Mark had no money to speak of, he still completed his film "Coven", and got it shown at the local theater.

My own conclusion is that "American Movie" is a well-crafted documentary useful for first time indie filmmakers. It's similar to a TV reality show, but without the competition. The cinematography and the editing are excellent. Although I found Mark to be irritating at times and overconfident of his skills, I admired his optimism and determination. "Coven", included as an extra on the DVD, may be a cinematic train wreck. But Mark's overall experience is no less valid as a guide to others. In essence, the message of "American Movie" is: don't let this happen to you.

I just watched this again the other night. It's probably the ninth or tenth time I've seen it, and I think it gets better every time. Contrary to what some people are saying, I don't think the makers of this film are laughing at and ridiculing Mark. Sure, some of the humor in the film is of the car-crash can't look away variety, but I feel underneath that they really admire the guy and his dogged tenacity. Another thing is I think Mark does show some skill as a director. Remember he has zero money shooting this stuff, and Coven was conceived as a money-making venture so he could make Northwestern. I think some of the samples they were showing from Northwestern actually looked very good. Now I don't think Mark writes the best dialogue in the world, but looking just at his photographic eye I'd say if the guy had any kind of schooling he might be shooting movies for someone right now. And finally, I think some of the people making negative comments about this movie need to look in the mirror and think about themselves a bit. OK, you don't like the movie, that's fine. But I've seen enough smug, superior, comments on here to make me want to puke. I love how as long as you're a poor, lower middle-class white in America people love to throw around terms like "white trash", "redneck", and other such pleasantries. I believe some scribe from Orange County at the beginning of the reviews even called them "inferior". I'm sure most of the people making the comments consider themselves liberals too; as if they have any concept of what that word means.

This is a very well made documentary. I read some of the other comments and I get a feeling that a few of these viewers don't watch too many documentaries (and all the reality TV crap doesn't count). Yes, this movie is painful at times because of the ineptness of the horro film director struggling to get his pals and relatives to help him make his demonic movie. But it shows someone (however debatable his talent)following a dream, a passion, a desire to do something. To break out of his hellish life of debts, and child out of wedlock and dreary 9-5 job. The camera captures wonderful moments of human behavior and just like project Greenlight, it shows what happens when people get in over their heads with trying to just film a simple scene (or a scene where someone's head has to go through a cabinet, or an old man has to clearly say ONE line and can't, etc.) BUT, a much better documentary about the same world is the much earlier 1975 documentary Demon Lover Diary - where someone tagged along as these Michigan guys tried to make their horror film. Hard to track down but highly recommended.

I enjoyed this one, because I can relate to it.

At one time in my life I was trying to make films, and experienced many of the same problems Mark Borchardt did in trying to make HIS film. And I also went through a protracted period of self-absorbed arrested development, where I refused to grow. But then, miraculously, I got married, and had kids. I realized that being a struggling filmmaker was, in all likelihood, not going to feed my family. So I got a decent job and did what I felt I needed to do to make that happen. That is what an mature, responsible adult does.

Mark hasn't faced up to that reality as yet, and so, in that sense, he is a retarded adolescent. For this reason, there is a hopelessness about him. Like Don Quixote, he seems so inept and self-deluded that he doesn't realize how bad off he really is. The viewer feels a sense of superiority and pity for him and his circle. Mark has kids and an ex-wife and bills to pay, but the film depicts him caring basically only about pursuing his "artistic vision".

Despite this, Mark comes across in the film as a likeable individual, surrounded by a very interesting family and group of friends. Unfortunately, Mark lacks many of the things necessary to be successful both in life and in a career: maturity, responsibility, education, knowledge, life experience, prioritization, financial clout, etc.. Yet he trudges on, much like Ed Wood, apparently without any semblance of a clue.

I guess we are supposed to feel encouraged by the spectacle of the "never say die" attitude of this noble individual, struggling against the odds. And man, what odds there are! Kiefer Sutherland, Colin Hanks, Tori Spelling and Angelina Jolie are all offspring of big-time film or TV people; no doubt, they will all want to direct some day, if they aren't already. How much room is there for an independent like Mark? It's like watching a guy hit himself in the head with a board, over and over again. Come to think of it, that is pretty close to what happens to one of Mark's actors, with the kitchen cabinet door, in one of the funniest scenes I have ever seen in any movie.

Despite these misgivings and seeming criticisms, I truly enjoyed this movie, and would heartily recommend it to anyone. Uncle Bill is amazing. I have a friend who met both Mike and Mark and he told me that, in real life, these guys are just exactly the way they appeared in the movie.