American Movie (1999)

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Powerful

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Outside of Milwaukee, Mark Borchardt is trying to make his independent film Northwestern. He's a film enthusiast with no money and some minor experience in filmmaking. Using relatives, his credit card, slackers friends and open casting, Mark struggles to pull everything together. He decides to finish his horror short Coven and use the proceeds to finance his dream movie. It's a long winding unexpected journey.I think most people took this movie as a straight up documentary and enjoy the real world of guerrilla indie filmmaking. I take it a little differently. It never seem real that the documentary is far superior to anything that Borchardt could achieve. This movie seems set up somehow. Yet I can't really say that it is. This conflict colors my enjoyment of this movie. I couldn't really decipher how much of this is true and how much is true for the camera.

This was shown on telly as part of a horror season but it has little to nothing to do with the horror genre. The fact that the guy in the film is attempting to make his own zero budget horror film doesn't really figure into it. Instead, this is an engaging character study of some ordinary, everyday characters who occasionally find themselves in extraordinary situations.It's also a psychological study of passion, obsession and dedication, focused around one man's seemingly endless quest to finish making his movies. Mark Borchadt is an engaging character indeed, not an easy man to like but nonetheless one whose personality makes him very appealing on film. Watching him throw tantrums is entertaining, yes, but in the end it's his dogged determination which wins through and gives the viewer a grudging respect for him.The story is funny in parts and tragic in others, and I was thoroughly engrossed in the storyline throughout even though nothing much really happens. It reveals the lives of working class Americans better than many a modern reality TV show. Watch out for the delightful Uncle Bill, a lovely character who proves to be the highlight of the movie.

This movie provides an excellent insight into the world of movie making, a world that requires no special training, just the desire to to do something creative. Movie making is one of the few areas left where formal credentials are not required. Case in point is the subject of this movie, a young man who starts out with nothing and years later creates a commercial product. It's really quite impressive. What I did not like about this documentary is that the young man and his associates are portrayed as being marginal and dysfunctional characters when in fact they are business people trying to put together a commercial product, and just because they don't dress or sound the part does not make them any less deserving of respect. Then again, maybe that's a strong point of the documentary. Whatever the case, this documentary should be a must see for anyone who has an urge to create but does not know where or even how to start. If this young man could do it, why not us?

One look at this movie and there is no way that you would believe that it is a documentary. The stars of this film are not just people in a documentary, but they are characters. After a few minutes of watching this, I had to double check that it was indeed a documentary and not a mockumentary. If there is a real-life incarnation of Jay and Silent Bob, it is Mark and Mike. The duo works great together and really compliment each other quite nicely. The cast of characters feel like they are straight out of a film such as "Napoleon Dynamite". Uncle Bill is another character who really adds to the movie every time he is on screen. The goals and dreams of Mark, that drive the plot of the documentary, seem destined to fail. Mark has hopes of directing and producing a film. Without the necessary resources to achieve a feature length one, he settles on one that is to be approximately a half-hour in length. Mark does not seem like the most intelligent individual who has ever aspired to make a film. He drinks many beers throughout the film and does not seem as though he's got anywhere near the necessary resources to make a movie, which is a difficult task even for someone with an abundant amount of resources and intelligence.Mark, Mike, Uncle Bill, and the rest of the characters all add a vast amount of humor throughout the run of the movie. My favorite line is when Mark was talking about "sucking down Schnapps and calling Morocco at 2:00 am". I can relate. The scene of Uncle Bill attempting to deliver his line is a home run as well. Uncle Bill's monologue at the end of the film is a nice touch. It had meaning, Bill was trying to say something, but at the same time he is thoroughly confused. However, it came off as a good, meaningful rant of an old, dying man. This movie has a lot of laughs and some great characters. It is a very successful documentary.