Troll 2 fans could rejoice with this really entertaining documentary directed by the kid star of that movie. The director, Claudio Fragasso (I have actually seen several of his films!), and his wife who wrote the film (an angered outcry against her vegetarian friends, replacing the vampire with goblins!), along with actors who starred in Troll 2 (the real star of the doc is the movie father of the kid, dentist George Hardy, living in Alabama) are interviewed and given the chance to truly voice their own feelings about the experience. While many (well, most…) of the cast have tried to bury the film away in the past, a cult following arises, many of whom grew up watching Troll 2 on VHS, and special showings by major fans are soon attended by dentist Hardy much to his delight. Hardy didn't realize just what this movie meant to others, soaking in the joy many feel having him in appearance at screenings of Troll 2. Eventually, though, after helping doc director Michael Stephenson find all the principle cast members (their visit to mother of Stephenson and Hardy's wife in Troll 2, Margo Prey, is a hoot in how she compares the film to Casablanca and the work of Katherine Hepburn! Hardy mentions how he kind of just wanted to leave but somehow had a hard time doing so!), attending countless theatrical showings in America (the overwhelming response for many of them excite Hardy), and hanging out at meet-and-greets at various cons (the disastrous cons in Great Britain and a horror convention in Dallas, TX, have poor Hardy out of his element, trying desperately to evoke interest in Troll 2 although no one had any care for their stand or merch whatsoever!) exhaust Hardy to the point that he is ready to get back to working on local Alabamans teeth instead of dedicating himself to all things Troll 2.Bad movies often do have this vocal, thriving fanbase that simply embrace the rotten aspects that are so pervasive and unintentional, as those in front of and behind the camera were sincere and serious in making the best picture they could. As you watch this doc, it is refreshing to see that the odd that emerges from every last second of Troll 2 was born out of a passionate and heartfelt filmmaker who doesn't look at his film as this junkpile that oozes noxious fumes of stink. He takes great offense and even disgust when the film is discussed by those in it with frank honesty, regarding how it brings out the worst from them on screen. I admire the director's fatherly protection of his baby even if it is regarded as an elephant man deserved of a lot of fingers pointed its way with laughter and disregard resulting.But I think the last two cons provided a lesson for us all: yes, Troll 2 has a following, but that doesn't mean it is a major deal. Obviously, this is a fringe following by a dedicated few scattered throughout the country. Those kids who rented it, popped the tape in the VCR, and took the whole bad boy in from start to finish, there was something about Troll 2 left an indelible mark. Perhaps it was the astonishment that someone had made this; that what appears before them is real and not some fever dream of crazy. Some person made this, acted in it, and thought up the many bizarre ideas that never fail to bewilder and leave mouth agape as it transpires to its conclusion. Anything that has no connection with Troll whatsoever and has a family unit (up against constant danger at every turn, an intentional narrative that just so happens to also features a bevy of weirdos and goblins in robes…) in danger so annoying that sympathy for them or concern for their welfare is nil is bound to entertain somebody. Hardy is a great focal point for the doc and his repulsion for all things horror--visiting the cast members at fan autograph booths for Nightmare on Elm Street sequels, among others, finding conversation lacking--during his Troll 2 "tour" is probably some of my favorite parts of Best Worst Movie. The fans and theater proprietors, given a platform with the doc to voice their support and reasoning behind the spell of Troll 2, are a major reason to see this. Hero worship is magnified when Troll 2 fans meet Hardy for the first time. The troubled lives of certain cast members (one considers his life whittled away, another would rather live somewhere completely away from the noise of neighbors, and a third admits to his back and forth past to a mental institution during the casting of Troll 2!) can produce a rather uncomfortable and depressing (and even funny, considering the personalities involved and the unpredictability of visiting folks during the day-to-day life) feeling, as the possibility of an acting career never materializes due to the film's woefully awful reputation. As a nostalgia trip and recognizing that something done in the past could provide one last satisfying recognition might be why this doc turned out to be such a treat. All that and how likable Hardy is on screen throughout...

Mismarketed as a documentary that seeks to deduce how bad movies get made, "Best Worst Movie" spotlights the cultural impact of "Troll 2", widely considered the worst movie ever made. The principal cast of "Troll 2" were either too young or too inexperienced to realize they were making such a hilariously bad flick. And you can't help but feel sorry for these people as they describe having to come to grips with their involvement in said debacle, back in 1989. But that sympathy doesn't last ling, as they grow to embrace their ironic fame. The funniest parts of "Best Worst Movie" (aside from clips of "Troll 2") are the raucous crowds at the revival screenings, and the cast's own reenactments of the best (worst) scenes from the movie. What's staggering is that the director has no idea he made a terrifically terrible movie. To him, it's a parable that examines the important everyday issues (life, death, food, family). Even when attending a midnight screening, the guys has no idea the movie is celebrated for being so awful.The documentary loses its way in the second half, as it focuses on the lead actor, George Hardy (a small-town dentist) and his time spent languishing at various fan and horror conventions where few have heard of "Troll 2". But the good definitely outweighs the bad here, as this is a thoroughly enjoyable film.I have never seen "Troll 2", and we simply need to fix that.7/10

Oh, "Troll 2", how I love thee! Yes, the 1990 "horror" film that doesn't even have trolls in it is widely considered to be one of the worst films ever created. (Even holding the #1 worst spot on this site at one time) It's one of those "so-bad-that-it's-good" movies- the film is just so fundamentally flawed in every way that it becomes strangely watchable and enjoyable. It ranks up there with "Plan 9 from Outer Space" and "The Room" as some of the Best-Worst movies. (Hence, this hilarious documentary's title.)"Best Worst Movie" is directed by the child "star" of "Troll 2", Michael Stephenson, as he analyzes the impact the film has made, and gives us glimpses at the lives of the principal actors involved.And it is a heart-felt, nostalgic ride, filled with great real-life "characters" and some touching moments. We mainly follow George Hardy, who played Stephenson's father in the film. He is a decent, divorced father with a teenaged daughter, a nice house and a successful dentist office. He's your small-town, friendly guy. Everyone loves him- even his ex-wife, who appears in the movie to speak on his behalf. We also meet a good portion of the other actors, and learn about the troubled production of "Troll 2" (including shooting with a foreign crew that didn't speak English, and working with a director whom doesn't seem too open to criticism or suggestions), and how many of the actors tried to forget about it. Of course, films like these never die, and the film became a cult classic for its unintentional awfulness and hilarious acting. The YouTube generation especially has made it into a sort of Holy Bible of Bad Movies.So we follow George and the others, as they slowly reclaim "Troll 2", and enjoy the success it has found. It's a lot of fun seeing George in particular, who you can tell actually enjoys acting, running around and giddily telling people about how he was in the "worst movie ever" with a smile. He's so happy to have been part in something so notable, and it's quite touching how much joy he can make out of it, when such a thing would jade most other people.There isn't a whole lot that happens in this documentary, to be honest. No real underlying theme or message, per say. But it is still a fun analysis of a pop-culture, cult icon, and those involved with it. There is also some extremely unexpected emotion in a few key scenes, including a sequence where Stephenson and George track down the actress who portrayed the mother in the film- only to learn that she has become reclusive, delusional and is clearly "out of touch." It added a weight to the film that I quite admired.I really enjoyed this. It's not the strongest documentary, but it's one of the "funnest" (I know that's not a word), and is a joy to watch. I give it a great 9 out of 10.

Best Worst Movie isn't what I expected it to be. In publicizing it, its maker and its subject gave interviews in which they recounted their experiences as actors in the movie Troll 2 15 years ago, and I expected BWM to be an expansion on those accounts: a thorough history of T2's making. But BWM includes very little information on that, less than what was in the interviews, even though it had the director, the writer, and the entire cast to draw from. It doesn't, for example, tell how T2 came into being, how it was financed, its director--an Italian--came to shoot in Utah, how he assembled the cast, and so on. A viewer who didn't know T2 wouldn't be able to piece together the story from the evidence here. Instead BWM concentrates on one of the T2 actors--a one-shot actor--traveling around the country to make personal appearances in what appears to be a touring revival of T2, primarily for the benefit of the cult it has gained since its making. But apart from one fan's account of how his cell came into being, BWM is short on facts even about the cult.So what does it show? It shows the one-shot actor telling people he once was in a bad movie and recapitulating his dialogue from it for the audiences at the revival showings. It also shows fans doing the kinds of things fans do: quoting lines from the movie, wearing homemade replicas of the costumes, and so on. A very little of this is entertaining--about enough for a five-minute feature on a TV magazine. But Best Worst Movie goes on for 18 times that length (30 times, if one counts the extras on the DVD). It's overkill. Worse yet, amidst all the repetition a somewhat unpleasant outlook comes to make itself felt. BWM likes to stare and point at people. It doesn't have the sympathy to look beyond the obvious and perceive anything more in them, or the curiosity to find out. It's satisfied to stare. And it seems to divide the objects of its attention into two categories: Geeks and Freaks. The Geeks--the members of the fan cult--are Okay. The Freaks--those who don't like T2, or like it in the wrong way, or belong to some different cult--are Not Okay. Thus one of the actresses from T2, who gave the nearest thing to a successful performance in it but has now become, or perhaps always was, a jittery recluse, isn't given leisure to explain herself, and her invalid mother, who is in no way unusual for a person at her time of life in her state of health (and has nothing to do with anything except that she happened to be on scene), is treated as a freak, whereas the movie validates people who put on goblin get-ups, gobble down green-dyed cakes, and re-enact scenes from a 15-year-old bad movie. I submit that the life of that invalid mother, her reclusive daughter, or any of the other people the film shows as marginal--if someone had the interest and sensitivity to bring them out--could be shown to have more value than the adolescent nonsense BWM chooses to celebrate. Consider the case: The moviemaker called on his hermitlike former castmate with no warning, she welcomed him into her house--and then he crapped on her. He lured the director of T2 to this country with a promise that he would see his movie appreciated at last--and then not only his appreciators but his former cast crapped on him. He's shown becoming quite testy about it, and no wonder; that kind of treatment is a betrayal. Hence, in the end the taste Best Worst Movie left in my mouth was more worst than best.