# American Movie (1999)

### reviewed by
Jon Popick

PLANET SICK-BOY: http://www.sick-boy.com

Who hasn't dreamed of becoming a filmmaker? Of receiving a standing ovation after screening your film for the first time? Of accepting your first Oscar while Jack Nicholson flashes you a smile and a thumbs-up? If you have, then American Movie will bring those dreams crashing down to reality. It's a hilarious documentary that follows a struggling young filmmaker's attempt to complete a black-and-white horror short about zombies.

The aspiring Spielberg is Mark Borchardt, a high-school dropout from the blue-collar Wisconsin suburb Menominee Falls. He has a paper route and three kids. He's a greasy metal-head with long hair, thick glasses and bad facial hair. His brother fears that Mark is more suited to becoming a stalker or serial killer than a filmmaker, perhaps fearing that he could be a victim. Mark even pronounces the name of the film he's making incorrectly. It's Cöven, but Mark says `COH-vin.' He explains that the correct pronunciation of the word `coven' sounds just like the word `oven,' and that can't be right. Mark sees Cöven as a cash-cow project that will allow him to fund his dream project – a feature film about his hometown called Northwestern. He plans to sell 3,000 Cöven videos at $15 each. Despite these quirks, Mark is actually an intelligent man with an obvious eye for cinema. An eye like Ed Wood, but an eye nonetheless.

Movie opens with Mark telling the audience the importance of not blowing important opportunities because second chances are hard to come by. He learned this lesson the hard way, as we soon see footage of Mark on a local radio show, where he was supposed to be talking up a short film that he made called Creeps. Instead, Mark showed up at the radio station under a beer/marijuana spell that left him babbling incoherently on the air.

We see Mark open his mail, which includes letters from creditors that threaten legal action. We also see an offer of a new credit card, followed by a gleam in Mark's eye as he realizes he can stay financially afloat a bit longer thanks to this pre-approved offer. We also see clips of other Super 8 horror shorts that Mark has made, including, at age 14, The More the Scarier. If the title cracks you up, just think about the two sequels (and the unfinished third). There is also a special-effects extravaganza from Mark's past called I Blow Up, which features him, umm, blowing up in front of a bathroom mirror.

Realizing he doesn't have the financing to continue Northwestern, Mark decided to complete Cöven, a film he has abandoned on and off over a seven-year period. His Uncle Bill reluctantly provides start-up money for Mark after his nephew flashes headshots of a beautiful model that he hopes to land for Cöven. Mark's best friend Mike, a burnt-out slacker, often accompanies him, playing a portly Abbott to Mark's stringy Costello. Jay and Inarticulate Bob, perhaps. In fact, because of the cavalcade of bizarre characters, you might think this is a mockumentary (a la This is Spinal Tap!). But it's real.

Movie's director Chris Smith follows Cöven from Uncle Bill's financing through the local premiere, set against the backdrop of Mark's thirtieth birthday and the Green Bay Packers 1998 Super Bowl victory. Smith's project, which was originally supposed to take six months, stretched to over two years as Mark continually ran into filming and financial obstacles. The two met while editing separate projects and Smith was taken by Mark's enthusiasm toward filmmaking. You too will be drawn into Mark's world, which, although sometimes frightening and often unintentionally hysterical, is really a very poignant portrayal of the American Dream.

1:47 – R for adult language and drug content

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