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emshon
Reviews
Some Assembly Required (2008)
Some Assembly Required SXSW Review
AUSTIN/SXSW Perhaps my favorite competition film from this year's SXSW Film Festival, "Some Assembly Required" was almost ruined for me because I was sitting next to a pack of teenage girls who were giggling and talking throughout the entire movie. I was just about to ask them to be quiet when I realized that these unruly teens sitting next to me were the exact same ones giggling and behaving like typical teenagers up on the screen in front of me.
So, making allowances for bad behavior from the film's young stars, "Some Assembly Required" is nevertheless a delightful look at six teams of school kids who are competing in the national Toy Challenge. Basically, it's a school competition that brings kids together after school to try and design a new toy. The contest is sponsored in part each year by Dr. Sally Ride, the former astronaut whose science foundation works to keep teen girls interested in math and science.
Those of you who have seen "Spellbound" or "Rock School" should immediately understand the appeal of "Some Assembly Required." The cameras follow these bright and vivacious kids as they pour their hearts and energy into creating something memorable. The charm of this documentary is that you learn just enough about all of the kids to take a personal interest in their success. Your paternal instincts will kick in and you'll find yourself hoping that each team could win the grand prize.
Of course they can't all win the top prize, but the film posits that the process of creation is the real reward here. As one coach pointed out when her team of mostly Girl Scouts set out to build a game that required them to create a complex series of electronic circuits; the very idea that these girls now know how to build electronics trumps any medal they might have won later on in competition.
"Some Assembly Required" is inspiring, and I particularly recommend it for middle school teachers or any parent looking to keep their child interested in science and learning. It's a simple doc; not overwhelmed with stylistic flourishes like many contemporary propaganda pieces masquerading as documentaries. Not a problem. The kids are so engaging that they easily hold your attention, even if there's a group babbling teens sitting next to you.
BTW-if you're a teacher interested in entering the next Sally Ride Toy Challenge, you can get all the details at www.sallyridescience.com/toychallenge.
Super High Me (2007)
Benson goes to Pot (again)
AUSTIN/SXSW "High Times Magazine" named Doug Benson as the second-ranked pot comic in the nation a few years ago. Benson must have decided not to settle for anything less than the top spot, because although the magazine hasn't since repeated their ranking, the frequently-stoned funnyman has gone out and made an entire movie about his life-long love affair with marijuana.
"Super High Me" started out as a jokepart of Benson's stand up routine. Riffing off Morgan Spurlock's documentary "Super Size Me," in which that filmmaker documented the effects of eating nothing but McDonalds fast food for thirty days in a row, Benson wondered what would happen to his health if he smoked pot non-stop for thirty days straight. As he joked with the packed SXSW crowd following the film's screening, the experiment wouldn't be too far removed from what he was doing already.
Let the experiment begin.
Just to make sure that everything was as scientifically pure as could be expected in such a dubious experiment, Benson goes clean and sober for a month. He has doctors check his general health and memory while he does the temporary rehab. Then it's thirty days of non-stop tokage (Benson has a prescription, so he's not really breaking any laws here). Bemused doctors monitor Benson's health throughout his "ordeal." He ends up gaining weight and his lung capacity goes down, but his intelligence scores and sperm count go way up. I think that it's safe to say that neither Benson, nor the audience learn anything notable about marijuana use from "Super High Me."
But that's not the point. "Super High Me" works simply because Benson is a very funny dude, stoned or not. The film works as an amusing experiment, made all the more enjoyable by Benson's funny observations, and an occasional bon mot by his semi-famous comedian friends. The pro-marijuana crowd at SXSW was thrilled by the film's wit. Naturally, more conservative audiences won't be quite as amused.
"Super High Me" does eschew humor at the end and somewhat awkwardly looks into the conflict between California and Federal laws regarding marijuana. The issue is too serious to merge with the rest of the film's humor, but not given enough weight within the film to serve as an effective rallying cry for the audience. Who knows? Perhaps Benson needs to make a sequel to give the issue its full due. As it stands, the film can't seem to decide if it wants to be an all-out comedy or a critique of US drug policy. It tries to do both and only partially succeed.
The bottom line is that "Super High Me" is still a lot of fun, particularly if you see it with the right crowd. Benson knows that finding the right audience is half the battle, and since he admits that many of his fans will be too stoned to go to the theater, he is offering to ship a DVD copy of the film to anybody who will set up a screening in their city. You can get all the details at www.superhighmemovie.com.