kjm

Well, yeah, OK, it's overall not that great of a film, but it does have Patrick Warburton, that hunky stud, stripped to the waist for most of the film, and in a peak moment, having his broad back and muscular shoulders mercilessly lashed for what seems to be an hour but is probably only like four or five minutes. Oh, Puddy!

I was caught up in the lore of DLD - until I finally saw it. It has a huge flaw, and it's not the purported ineptness of the narrative film-makers. It's the unethical and condescending, manipulative and immature behavior of the documentary film-makers, Joel DeMott in particular. She boasts early on that she's never been to the Midwest and that supercilious attitude carries her right into a disaster of her own making. This film is more about the breakdown of the documentary film than it is about the breakdown of the narrative one. I left DLD with no respect or empathy for Joel and Jeff. And I can't believe that anyone would rate DLD higher than American Movie in any respect. American Movie is better made, explores the psyche of the demented "true believer" much better, and actually says something honest about the world. DLD just shows how sheltered a young East Coast privileged girl can be, and how poorly prepared she is to make a documentary.

The American Heritage Dictionary lists approximately 14 definitions for the word "suck." I would like to nominate a 15th: "Slackers." It's not funny, it's not campy, it's not so-bad-you-have-to-laugh funny, it's just limp and lifeless. Kick it and it may twitch, but just as a reaction. There's no independent life inside. That scratching sound you hear in the background in certain scenes is the screenwriter and director scraping the bottom of the barrel of other teen comedies looking for some laughs. It's a derivative example of a derivative genre. It's redundant. It has Mamie Van Doren in a bathtub. It has non-actors portraying non-students. It's a non-film, anti-art and flatulent, but not in a fun way.