I stumbled across one of producer/director Dwayne Buckle's many 2019 documentaries ("Analog: The Art & History of Reel-To-Reel Tape Recording") at my local library. That show is basically a hour of fuzzy vintage public domain clips with narration, the kind of piece that could easily be distilled to a third of its hour-long run time and put on YouTube.
Perusing Buckle's filmography did reveal one title of interest amid a slew of similarly non-descript and/or weird short docs: 2014's DINNER WITH LLOYD, a 68-minute visit with Troma Film honcho and independent film legend Lloyd Kaufman. Kaufman has produced, written, directed and/or starred in literally hundreds of self-consciously schlocky movies. Buckle is given generous access to the man and his cluttered, chintzy New York City office building but apparently did little advance research on his subject, so the energetic Kaufman is left to do all the heavy lifting.
After a 26-minute guided tour of the building - during which Kaufman randomly pokes through some very cool Troma detritus while Buckle remains largely silent and only expresses interest in an old film reel rewinder (literally one of the least unique items in the building) because he doesn't know what it is! - the two sit down for a chat at Kaufman's memorabilia-blasted office. There, Buckle, without a mic (thankfully Kaufman has one), slumps in a chair, locks his two video cameras into the least interesting compositions possible, and lobs strangely generic 'state of mass media today' questions at the king of schlock indie movies, to which Kaufman, not surprisingly, responds with more candid, detailed, politicized answers than the questions actually deserve, and - ever the showman - even indulges in a tacky 'lunch delivery' comedy bit with a staffer to liven up the proceedings. He also greets Buckle at the beginning of the film with his pants down, and Buckle barely reacts to it. You might chalk this up to fan jitters if Buckle wasn't so poorly prepared and disinterested for the rest of his own movie.
What could have be an animated conversation is largely just Kaufman expounding about things he's often discussed in interviews and documentaries before this one, and more since. The man's carny barker energy is limitless, yet Buckle barely engages with him and seems to be aiming his documentary at people with almost no familiarity with Kaufman - posting yellow-backed text screens with Wiki-grade historical factoids and padding the show with four or five classic Troma trailers in their entirety (!). The videographer has about as much knowledge of his subject as he assumes his audience will, the results doesn't break any new ground.
Get this doc for the animated, gregarious Lloyd Kaufman giving 110 per cent as always. Just don't expect his interviewer - and the film's maker - to reflect any level of enthusiasm back to him.