Best Worst Movie

source: Best Worst Movie

I saw Troll 2 years and years ago with my brother and we loved it (we were 10 and 8) then again about 3 years ago with a group of friends and we hated it, and when I checked I was not surprised that it is known as the worst film ever. So when I heard of a documentary about it, I sought out a copy and eagerly watched it, and I wasn't disappointed. Directed by the child "star" we meet the cast, director, writer, fans and super fans, which all range from comical, embarrassing, mentally unstable, deluded, egotistical and down right stupid. There are some really great moments in this film, especially when the father in the film realises the cult status of said movie and grabs his "fame" tightly with both hands clearly relishing from the devotion the 300 + fans in attendance at a special screening give him, only to come crashing down when he gets to wrapped up in it and believes himself/itself to be bigger than he/it is. The parts when they interview 3 of the "stars", the mother, the grandfather and the store owner, are the most compelling and depressing, showing 2 of them to be extremely mentally unwell and the other a sad lonely old man surrounded by his own junk. But Oscar for most deluded has to go to the "director" some Italian idiot who believes that he has made a masterpiece, and his writer wife who refers to it as a social statement about vegetarianism. It is a great little doc with some standout moments, The Birmingham NEC memorabilia fair and Margot Prey recreating the noise her neighbours make, to a genuinely uncomfortable director and actor being the most. What starts out a homage/tongue in cheek look at the "worst movie ever" ends up being a sad and moving experience. Highly recommended

The film Troll 2 has become something of a cult item in the last five or six years. It's one of the movies that truly defines the term 'so bad it's good'. It's a consistently ridiculous film that is so very amusing because it so clearly never intentionally tries to be funny at any point. Its mixture of earnest endeavour, cinematic hopelessness and general strangeness aligns it alongside the much-loved yet utterly inept work of Ed Wood. It's really a very rare occasion for any film to achieve the very specific anti-brilliance of Troll 2. So with this in mind, it only seems right that a documentary has been made to celebrate its existence. It focuses mainly on two things. The people involved in the making of the film and the audiences it has subsequently attracted. What it doesn't do – and this is a mistake in my opinion – is tell us how the movie came to be made in the first place. It doesn't even answer the question that many people find the most obvious – why is it called Troll 2 when there aren't any trolls in it? I think the story of Troll 2 warranted a little more historical context and background info, as much of the facts are fascinating in themselves. That said I did enjoy Best Worst Movie and think it's great it was made at all. I remember back in 2005 Michael Stephenson the director and child star in the film frequented the IMDb boards with other cast members and he did say back then that he was planning on making this very documentary. I must say I thought it would never happen but fortunately I was incorrect. George Hardy, the father in the film, emerges as a real star; a very likable man who seems to have lapped up his bizarre fame. Although the real main man of the piece turns out to be director Claudio Fragasso. Every time he was on screen was gold. He was a living embodiment to what made Troll 2 so entertaining in the first place, i.e. committed artistic seriousness and a refreshing lack of irony. Fragasso truly believed that Troll 2 was loved so much because it was a complex family drama. Although he at least didn't go as far as to compare it with Casablanca as Margo Prey did without any sense of jest. Prey was clearly a disturbed woman. But then so was Don Packard, the man who played the drugstore owner, he in fact was an out-patient at a sanatorium when the film was made. So this is surely an example of fact being as strange as fiction. Well, almost. Best Worst Movie is ultimately a perfect accompaniment to Troll 2 itself. The documentary somewhat strangely does not really focus on the content of the film itself. There are numerous clips of course but they're never commented on and many of the best parts are bizarrely not featured in the first place. This would perhaps be more of a problem if you didn't have the movie itself to enjoy afterwards. Ultimately Best Worst Movie is a look at a group of people who were inadvertently involved in making a movie that not one of them could have imagined in their wildest dreams would go on to become something of a cult classic. It's a strange story but one worth knowing about.

Best Worst Movie is a documentary about the people who made the movie Troll 2, and the fans who love it. Troll 2 is a ridiculous movie and is considered one of the worst ever made. It is pointed out numerous times that every aspect of the film was poorly done--the story, the acting, the effects, not to mention that it is NOT an official sequel to the first movie, Troll, or that there are no Trolls in the movie. The documentary was done by the actor who played the central character in the movie, Joshua. He connects with most of the cast members to discuss what directions their lives have taken, giving most of the screen time to the actor who played the dad (he has a successful dental practice). Friends and family continually praise this guy, George Hardy, as being one of the nicest people you'll ever meet and a pillar of his community, but over the course of the movie I got pretty sick of listening him talk about himself. The actress I was most interested in hearing from was the crazy lady who lived in the church, but they make no mention of her. The documentary doesn't contain any making-of footage. Some of the actors share memories of filming, but most of the time is spent listening to fans talk about how much they enjoy Troll 2 and all the ways they pay tribute to it. Personally, I thought Troll 2 was kind of a depressing movie, but you will meet people who have found it to be a joyful, life-affirming experience. There were some people you will definitely remember in this doc. The woman who played the mother, Margo Prey, comes off as a very troubled person. The director, Claudio, keeps insisting that the movie is not only good, but contains some deep allegory about the family unit. I couldn't decide if he was totally delusional or just had different cultural values. And the guy who played the store owner admits on camera that he was so wacked during the making of the movie that he contemplated killing the child actor he played opposite of (who is now the man that filmed the interview in which this was admitted). I can't really fault this documentary for spending as much time as it did on the cult status of the movie, but I was hoping for more of the history behind its making. Also, I got really sick of hearing George repeat the line about p###ing on hospitality (and George got sick of saying it). 5 out of 10.

Although I love Troll 2, I cannot concur with the general consensus that it is even close to the "worst movie ever made." (For that honor, you have to look at something that takes itself really seriously, with pretenses to high art, like a "film" by Godard). Troll 2 is a nutty little comedy with a ridiculous plot, silly dialog and amateurish costumes, and, as such, I really enjoyed it. It's fun. IMHO, the main fault of this good-natured and generally excellent documentary is its failure to mention Deborah Reed, whose way over-the-top portrayal of veggie villainess and hippie druid Queen "Creedence Leonor Gielgud" is the wacky heart of the movie. She morphs from maniac priestess to gorgeous Elvira-like vamp whose hotness can literally pop corn (in the film's most overtly comic scene). Did Deborah Reed ask to be excluded from the documentary? (She does have an incomplete website). Was there a conflict between the documentary's creator and the actress? The documentary's failure to make any mention of Reed causes a real WTF moment. Anyway, Deborah was a doll, full of manic comic energy, and I was surprised to see that her career as a film actress seems to be limited to Troll 2. What happened to her? We want to know! But all-in-all, I am very grateful for Troll 2, and for Michael Stephenson's delightful documentary. Both of these films have made my life a marginally happier place. Bravo! And hang in there Margo! I really sympathize with your feelings about crappy neighbors!

Michael Stephenson sets out to exorcise the ghost of his child performance in entertainingly bad classic Troll 2. In so doing he reacquaints himself with the cast and the small but dedicated fan base. Despite the cast being the strangest group of people you would ever meet the result is surprisingly conventional and boring. I'm not sure whether it is because Stephenson wished to spare his fellow cast members unnecessary embarrassment or (more likely) lack of their willingness to participate, but he chooses to focus his attention on George Hardy, the lead in Troll 2 who is now a dentist. Other members of the cast and crew are viewed only fleetingly so we find out very little about them or their stories. George comes across as a thoroughly nice chap if not the most interesting, but it is asking a lot for him to bear the weight of an entire documentary. He seems game enough, attempting to drum up business for certain Troll 2 events by going door to door, reciting his most famous lines from the film to all and sundry. But as he himself says "It gets old real quick". One gets the impression that Stephenson had very much a "Spinal Tap" approach, inter cutting shots of the hapless hero with perplexed reactions, as in the scene where George is speaking at a sci-fi convention and the camera then pans the audience and we see about 6 not very interested people. This seemed a little unkind to George so perhaps the others were wise not to want more involvement. But the real problem is the lack of material. George repeats the same line over and over again and a few fans repeatedly say "Wow Troll 2" This documentary runs out of legs a least half an hour before its end.

Just returned from seeing this at the Denver-Starz Film Festival and I must say that I was pleasantly surprised. First let me say that I went to see this movie on a whim as I was actually at the Metro State campus (where the film festival is located) for a live music event that took place later. OK back to the film. You don't need to see Troll 2 to appreciate this movie as enough (but not too much) of the original is contained in this documentary to give you an idea of how bad it is. One of the elements that makes this movie good is that except for the beginning there is no off screen narrator. Titles let you know who is speaking and where the and the characters on screen are currently. The actors and dialog carry us almost seamlessly from place to place and fill us in on the minor phenomenon of the now cult status of Troll 2. George Hardy who played the father in Troll 2 and who is the main focus of this film is a gem. He enjoys his time in the spotlight and appears to be a good man. We see him go from place to place promoting Troll 2 at first really amazed to see lines of people around the block waiting to see him and the movie. He then goes to various conventions where the film is only a sideshow and where he comes to the realization as to why he can't keep doing this. He admits to wanting to be an actor but was pushed into his current profession (which is portrayed with just the right balance between humor and seriousness). We also meet other actors from Troll 2 including Robert Ormsby (who played Grandpa) and Margo Prey (who played the Mother) who have remained in Salt Lake City (where Troll 2 was filmed) and in the 20 years since the movie was made have led tragic lives and are quite touching to see today. We also meet the director of Troll 2 who at times is confused and angry that people consider his film bad and funny. The most unusual story is about the actor who played the store clerk in Troll 2. Apparently at the time of making the movie he was on release from a mental hospital and claims that he was not acting. What he was doing was real and he was considering violence to several of the cast members including the little kid (which when you see the movie will be quite funny). There is much more which I won't go into here but if you get a chance to catch this at a film festival then you may get to meet George, the director, and his wife the producer. All are characters in themselves and they have made a minor work of art here. To sum it up this is movie that doesn't take itself too seriously and never strays into the realm of ridicule which would have been so easy to do given the subject and the people involved. It is serious and touching without getting overtly sappy. See this if you get a chance. Here is the web site here for information: www.bestworstmovie.com. One last thing: NILBOG!

I had never seen Troll 2 before this film, but decided to watch it before viewing Best Worst Movie. After I saw it, I immediately watched the documentary as I was now hooked and had to know the story behind Troll 2. Now, I liked Troll 2. As a connoisseur of "bad" movies, Troll 2 has it all. I keep putting "bad" in quotes because they are only labeled that, and in my mind are not REALLY bad. They are wonderful. And that's exactly why Best Worst Movie is wonderful. It celebrates with love the awesome earnestness of strange film making that is Troll 2. It catches up with many of the film's stars and the highlight is George Hardy, the leading man in Troll 2. He's a living Ken Doll - you can't believe how sincere and likable he is. (I recently met George, and let me tell you, he is really the nice person he portrays.) At one point in the doc, George and the documentary's director (Michael Stevenson, who played the little boy in Troll 2) are on a mission to show the film to George's hometown. George, who is a dentist in his non-acting life, has known these people for years. But most them are not aware of this illustrious Hollywood moment he had in 1989. George goes door to door, handing out fliers, and acting out moments from the film. Even though many of his neighbors stare blankly as he repeats a classic line from Troll 2, he gives the moment his all - smiling and laughing the whole time. You know then that this is a man who loves to exist in a world where he can tell people to see a movie he starred in that most actors would remove from the IMDb page. I can't do justice in this review the documentary's many great moments because the reality of those scenes have to be seen. But what you take away from this film is that the love true cinephiles have can breath life into films and give them meaning never meant by a filmmaker. And this is the amazing magic of movies - like a good novel, they continually have new meaning. THAT is what makes "bad" movies - or any movie for that matter - a classic.

I enjoyed watching this documentary. I think this was a good example of a situation where the original cast overcame a negative experience (endured 18 years ago). Described as embarrassing, depressing etc... which isn't a stretch I could imagine it must have been crushing to be cast in a movie you thought was going to be a legit movie, to than watch it and find out that it's not only a bad movie or a bomb it's so bad there isn't a category for it, other than a college film making 101 project. I could also imagine it must have been rough for the younger actors going to school after this aired (especially the girl… the dancing in the mirror scene, should I say anymore?). Thanks to the making of this documentary (the kid from Troll 2)… the movie resurfaced for the actors involved and they learned to embrace it and have fun with it. There's no better example of this then Dr. George Hardy (the father in Troll 2). He makes all of the various personalities of those involved comfortable, including the viewer. He is just an all around good guy. This guy is destined for something big... I don't know whether it's acting or what, spokesperson for something maybe, who knows? So it's no coincidence and definitely a smart move to have focused most of the attention on this guy. A few of the original cast members have continued to pursue acting. The sister from Troll explains, she would never put this on her resume… if it's found out she was in this movie, any chance of getting a call back is gone. I really think this documentary will change things for her if she learns how to embrace it. Think about it, if she tries out for a role, interview or whatever and embraces that experience… there isn't a better conversation piece or way to be remembered than that. I mean who else can say they were in the worst movie ever made? Do you think many of the various regularly seen actors on TV Shows , Movies, commercials etc. got to that point on talent alone? Probably not, at least not in the beginning… I'm sure something stood out or was remembered about them in those initial casting calls. So how does one create the worst movie ever? This question is answered upon watching the director in this movie. Not speaking English (very little), having a big ego and possessing very little reasoning skills probably had a lot to do with it. So for me Troll 2 became even funnier upon learning that this wasn't an intentional dud or recognized as bad by the director even 18 years later. He doesn't understand the joke of the whole thing. It took him a while to catch on, that the reason everyone liked the movie so much was because it was so bad. I liked the part where the original cast was speaking in an auditorium about their experience when making the movie. I would have liked to have heard a little more about the movie making experience. Unfortunately we miss out on what some of them said because the director gets mad and throws a little tantrum. By the way, I'm one of those people who thought Troll 2 was hilarious and entertaining. Basically because the movie is so poorly done and horribly acted. So the title of this documentary is perfectly fitted… "Best Worst Movie". One exception, the store owner in Troll 2 did a great acting job, plus he looked the part. It was the only moment where one may find a hint of eeriness in this movie. It's unfortunate this guy was never cast in another horror movie. There's still time… I can see him fitting well in some minor roles, since he would give the movie an eerie edge.

Perhaps it was the build up for watching this documentary, but I found it to be the most enjoyable movie I've watched all year. I was reviewing the list of movies on display at the Sacramento Film Festival and I stumbled across the synopsis for this movie. I had vague recollections of Troll, but I couldn't really remember watching Troll 2. I recruited a few friends to watch the documentary since they'd heard of Troll 2 from some documentary about the worst movies ever filmed. Three hours before the documentary was set to start, we gathered at my house with some chips and beers and set out to watch Troll 2. One friend had to switch to hard liquor to handle the outlandishly bad scenes in the movie, but the rest of us found the movie very watchable. It's like watching a train wreck at a high school talent show. You get a gut-wrenching feeling from watching these people make asses out of themselves, but you can't help but love their performance. Anyway, we finished Troll 2 and we all agreed that there were several parts of the movie we'd love to have explained. That's where the documentary came in. It's like having an audio commentary extra from a special edition DVD, except you have to go to the local indie theater to watch it. I don't know what the hell that one reviewer was writing about, but out of the 25 people who were in the small theater, at least 15 of them were constantly bursting into fits of laughter. The documentary is genuinely funny and I don't think people should watch it as a serious film... since it's about the worst movie ever. It'd make no sense. One of my friends that went to the theater with us did so without watching Troll 2. After the documentary, he insisted that we watch the Troll 2 again that night, which we did. After watching the documentary, it's hard not to like Troll 2 since you now know the people that played the characters. It's comforting to know that they're as embarrassed about some of their scenes as you were for them.