Is This The Real Life? Documentaries You Love

[goggle]

snowberry said:

Has anyone seen a documentary which I believe is titled 14 Kids and Pregnant Again? I think maybe it was on the Discovery channel? I am not sure how to go about finding it or if it would be worth my while. Any opinions?

I saw that. It was ok- I didn't watch the whole thing but it wasn't awful or anything. The girls all dressed like their mom (homemade eighties-style dresses and long hair) and the boys all dressed like their dad (same short hair, pretty preppy). It was a bit odd!

Never seen it, but there's a very interesting thread on it over at TWOP

[tommytimp]

I'm sooprized no one has mentioned Unzipped yet. Like a lot of great docs, the fact that someone close to the subject (in this case Isaac Mizrahi's boyfriend) was the filmmmaker allows for some otherwise-unprecedented access. It's all about how Mizrahi conceives and executes his spring collection, leading to the inevitable triumph of Fashion Week in NYC. I'm about as far from a fashion maven as it gets, but I'm a performer, so I loved the examination of the creative process.

Also worth mentioning is Overnight, about Troy Duffy, who became, yes, an overnight sensation when Miramax bought his script for The Boondock Saints.

Oh, and Hoop Dreams may very well be the best film of the 90s. Of course, I live in Chicago, so I have to say that.

March of the Penguins was pretty good too.

[tommytimp]

Yes; I saw a not-good print, and the criticism towards the filmmakers of wanting to anthropomorphize animals is valid (ie the narration informing us that "This is a love story") but the photography, considering it was shot in an Antarctic winter, is staggering. And really, what's funnier than emperor penguins? And what's cuter than baby emperor penguins?

[tommytimp]

Yes.

[Deleted]

I want to see March of the Penguins, too, solely because penguins are cute.

[shriekingeel]

I'm about as far from a fashion maven as it gets, but I'm a performer, so I loved the examination of the creative process.

I loved Unzipped too! It's absolutely the last kind of movie--a documentary about a flamboyant fashion designer fretting about an upcoming runway show--that I could ever have any interest in. And in fact, I shallowly admit that I only watched it for Christy Turlington and the other supes--but before long I found myself rooting for Mizrahi. Just a beautifully-made film.

[sjankis630]

To answer your question, the kids are all New York, inner city elementary students. The documentary says that it is manadatory for all children in public schools, age 9-13, to attend ballroom classes

Beats the hell out of my elementary school upbringing here down south. We had to do Square Dancing with music played through those scratchy awful suitcase sized recordplayers. Although, we didn't have to do any sort of competition though.

[Ripley]

TTMR and I watched 2 last night. First we watched Pretty Things, directed by Laura Goldwyn. It was all about these women who were burlesque dancers from the 50's. Well, it was mostly about them. Ms. Goldwyn spent way too much time putting her own damn self on the camera, including her own strip tease at the end. Should have been better than it was.

Then we watched Little Dolls, that documentary about 5-year-old beauty pageant contestants. Ye gods and goddesses, that was depressing. After they were over, TTMR told me that I had lost my TV program selecting privileges for a week.

[Deleted]

Some Kind of Monster is pretty good, in a twisted way, being the bastard son of Let It Be. Both are good if you like to see awesome, kick-ass bands self-destruct by wallowing in their own depressive fame and drug problems. (VH1 is airing SKOM right now).

And I love Sir Paul, but Lars Ulrich is totally playing Paul's Let it Be role. Which is fitting, 'cause I always thought they did look alike.

That said, Dave Mustaine needs to get the f*ck over it.

[garnet927]

According to amazon.com, Paris Is Burning is coming out on DVD on Sept. 6th. I'm happy two of my favorite documentaries of the 90's (the other being Hoop Dreams) will both be on DVD.