Cult Movie - American Movie - American Movie review - American Movie video - Mark Borchardt - Mike Schank - Menomonee Falls Wisconsin - Northwestern

Imagine if Ed Wood had allowed a documentary film crew to follow him around while he directed the cult classic, Plan Nine from Outer Space. We could eavesdrop on Wood's decision to use his chiropractor to fill in for the film's "star," Bela Lugosi, who passed away before filming started. Watch the production crew set up that cardboard cemetery and fling those paper plate UFOs. Observe Wood's rapport with his main actors: Swedish wrestler Tor Johnson, Vampira, Dudley Manlove ("Eros") and Criswell, the film's narrator. Unfortunately we have no such document of the widely acclaimed "Worst Film Ever Made." However, I'll settle for American Movie, a documentary about extremely low budget filmmaking. It's the best documentary I've seen since Crumb and contains about the same number of whacked out characters. Apparently, the director of this masterpiece, Chris Smith, has another film out there called American Job about low-level jobs. Bottom line: American Movie is a demented Hoop Dreams for the drug-addled set.

The main character, Mark Borchardt, is the obsessed filmmaker and he's about as far away from Hollywood as you could possibly get - in this case, Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. His main goal in life is to finish a full-length horror film titled Northwestern. It's obvious that this guy's entire film career is based on the opening scenes of Night of the Living Dead. He also credits Dawn of the Dead, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Phantasm and The Shining as major influences. If Mark is hanging out, he's drinking beer; if he's directing the movie, he's got a beer (usually a Pabst Blue Ribbon) in his hand; and if he's taking a rare shower, he's draining a beer. Mark's determined to live out his version of the American Dream. He's also a deadbeat dad with three kids out of wedlock. To fund his masterpiece, Mark runs up credit cards, borrows from friends and relatives, and works a series of menial jobs - from delivering newspapers to vacuuming a mausoleum. His creditors are after him and so is the IRS. He doesn't give a shit. So he drops Northwestern and focuses on a shorter film called Coven, "a psychological thriller portraying an alcoholic writer's descent into the demonic abyss of a self-support group." He figures if he can sell 3,000 "units" of the flick at $14.95 apiece he can raise enough money to finish his dream project. We also meet Mark's Uncle Bill, who looks like one of those derelicts who lives under an overpass and holds up a sign that reads "WILL WORK FOR FOOD." Believe it or not, this old coot is the principal investor for the film. He lives in a trailer but he's got a $280,000 nest egg. And it's obvious through the duration of the film that he doesn't have much longer to live. One of the most interesting characters is Mark's friend Mike Schank. This guy just doesn't give a fuck about anything and he follows Mark around like some latter-day Sancho Panza. He spends his time playing the guitar, buying lottery tickets (he's "won almost four thousand dollars playing scratch-offs," according to the official web site) and helping Mark with his films. Both of these guys still sport Led Zepplin T-shirts and have long, stringy hair. And they're Packer fans to boot. The final scene of American Movie is very revealing. It shows some of Mark's old silent black-and-white film clips from the early '80s - the same friends racing around madly, drinking beer and raising hell. Nothing has really changed . . .

My top 10 favorite scenes from American Movie:

1) During the first Northwestern producting meeting, the room is full. In each successive meeting, the number drop off until it's just Mark and some guy who looks like he'd rather be ANYWHERE else!
2) Mike says that Mark became his friend because he was the only guy who would drink a pint of vodka with him in the middle of the afternoon.
3) Mark gets Uncle Bill fucked on, I believe, schnapps.
4) With a shortage of extras, Mark is forced to enlist his mom to appear in a scene out in the forest in the middle of winter as one of the dark-hooded demons.
5) Uncle Bill is given a brief but crucial role in the film. He's got about three lines to remember—some ludicrous rant about Jesus coming. The poor guy keeps fucking up his lines and Mark makes him go through more than 30 takes.
6) Mike relates a story about how he dropped some bad acid and landed in the hospital. When he woke up, what did he do, swear off drugs forever? No, he searches his pockets frantically for more acid!
7) Mark and Mike go to the university to distribute flyers for Coven. Mike starts strolling off—without the flyers! Mark asks him what he's doing. He responds that he's going to put up the flyers. Mark informs him that he needs the flyers in order to put them up.
8) The day after Memorial Day, Mark's got to pluck about 3,000 flags from graves during his job at the local cemetery.
9) After the Packers win the Super Bowl, a drunken Mark unleashes a tirade of profanities directed at nothing in particular. When he leaves the room, the camera turns to his mom, who says, "I'm glad the Packers won . . ."
10) Mark flings one of the other actors headfirst into a supposedly "breakable" kitchen cabinet until he's nearly unconscious.

For more recommended documentaries, check out Top 10 Offbeat Documentaries.

NEW! Top 10 Quotes from American Movie

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