Best Worst Movie (Review)

Some things really are just so bad they’re good:  Members Only jackets, Justin Bieber’s hair, Renaissance festivals and Troll 2.

Troll 2 is the subject of the documentary Best Worst Movie.  It is the brainchild of the star of the film, Michael Stephenson, who saw his dreams of stardom spontaneously combust after viewing the final product.  He knew he would never land another audition.

Eighteen years later, Troll 2 has replaced Ed Woods’ Plan 9 from Outer Space as the worst movie ever made and has become a cult classic with screenings around the world.  Stephenson decided to explore the phenomenon and catch up with the cast and crew.

George Hardy, who plays the father in the movie is now a dentist who practices in Alexander City, Alabama.  He is a total ham and is clearly relishing his second chance at stardom.  He signs autographs and takes pictures as if he’s Robert DeNiro.  Basking in the spotlight, he doesn’t even care that his fame as an actor has come from being a really, really bad one.  He is definitely in on the joke.

The rest of the cast and crew also seem in on the joke with the exception of the director, Claudio Fragasso, Rossella Drudi , (Claudio’s wife and screenwriter) and Margo Prey who played Stephenson’s mother.  Unfortunately, they feel as if they made high art and watching them defend and/or reminisce about their experience is too much fun.  Rejoicing in their inability to grasp the ridiculousness of Troll 2 would be sadistic except that Fragasso and Drudi are such jerks that you don’t care and Prey is so spacey that you hope that ignorance truly is bliss.

Best Worst Movie is the celebration of a film that has no redeeming qualities whatsoever.  Everything about it is abysmal:  the acting, the directing, the music, the script and the special effects.  Troll 2 is a cinematic train wreck and that is precisely what makes it great. So spray down the hairflap covering your forehead and slip on that Members Only jacket as you take in Best Worst Movie/Troll 2 double feature.