Quirky Documentaries

I haven't done enough documentary reviews on my blog, though I watch many. My tastes lean towards the eccentric rather than the "important" documentaries. I don't really care to discuss "Inside Job", "Gasland", or "The Cove". It's not that I don't like films that address social issues, I've actually watched many. However, I really don't want to dwell on things like the slaughter of dolphins or the collapsing world economy. I watch the films and try to educate myself enough to carry on intelligent conversation, but reviewing them would force me to confront emotions that I'd prefer to ignore.

Instead, I want to focus on documentaries that ignore social issues. I want to learn about people I can both laugh at and pity. While none of the docs I'm about to mention give you a full understanding of the human condition, each one gives you a different perspective that can be used to widen your horizon.

Here's a list, in no particular order, of docs that I've seen and plan to review.

This list is subject to change.

• Big River Man - The story of a overweight, drunken, and maybe crazy Slovenian man who swims the entire Amazon river.
• Exit Through The Gift Shop - The most famous on this list, a look at guerrilla art and the fallacies associated with modern art.
• Winnebago Man - A viral video before the internet existed. A filmmaker tracks down the subject of a video that depicts a man cursing everything and everyone in commercial outtakes.
• Best Worst Movie - A filmmaker tracks down the cast and crew of a b-movie he starred in as a child. Widely recognized as awful, Troll 2 has a huge underground following.
• Tabloid - By the notorious doc-director Errol Morris. This documents the exploits of a ex-beauty queen who (possibly) abducted and raped a mormon missionary in England, and also had her dog "Booger" cloned.
• Resurrect Dead: The Mystery Of The Toynbee Tiles - this one I've already reviewed. A man decides to document his quest to uncover the truth behind a strange phenomenon.
• Shut Up Little Man: An Audio Misadventure - about 2 men recording their drunken neighbors' fights and the world of audio vérité.
• The Elephant In The Living Room - This one has been recently reviewed here. About a man who owns African lions in Ohio and the explosion of exotic animals in the U.S.
• POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold - A long title but a fun movie. It discusses the influence and prevalence of advertising in today's society. From the director of Super Size Me. Already reviewed here.

Here's a few that I haven't seen, but they seem to fit the theme. I'll try to catch these soon and let you know what I think.

• Billy T: Te Movie - About the all-around showman Billy T. James. A Maori entertainer in New Zealand.
• Bill Cunningham New York - About an unlikely fashion photographer who lives an eccentric life while documenting what people wear in all social classes.
• The Wild Wonderful Whites of West Virginia - A documentary about alliteration. Not really. It's about a family of extreme rednecks that are stranger than fiction. An oldie but a goodie, from what I hear.
• Strongman - A film by Zachary Levy that I can't find anywhere. It's about a man claiming to be the strongest in the world, who also lives with his mom. I've been pining to see this since Roger Ebert reviewed it over a year ago.