Full disclosure from a lifelong connoisseur of garbage: I did not enjoy Birdemic: Shock and Terror. What is most irritating about it has little to do with the movie itself, though: in the rush to anoint this legit shitpile the BEST WORST MOVIE EVER, all the press that talked about it being a cult sensation neglected how cult films work (I'll give you a clue: it doesn't happen overnight!). But on top of being annoyed at the way the rush to claim and describe everything perverts long-standing institutions (I'm an old man, so what?), Birdemic: Shock and Terror is just tedious. Part of what makes it hilarious is the stilted editing style, which at times places several beats between each line of dialogue, the sound audibly cutting out between each exchange. This is funny for five minutes and excruciating at 90. Birdemic: Shock and Terror is too long by at least half, which makes repeat viewing virtually impossible (not that various outlets gave anyone the time to watch it again before declaring it a cult classic, and repeat-watching has everything to do with a film's worthiness in assuming that title).
However, its director James Nguyen is at least morbidly fascinating, because there is something decidedly...off about him. I hate saying "off," but "wrong" would be even worse, because I frankly believe he has some kind of mental or emotional impairment. The guy just doesn't get anything. He thinks he actually has made a movie with a "great storyline" that he hopes will leave people "thinking," per his commentary on Severin's newly released Birdemic DVD. Here too is a problem with Birdemic: the ambiguity of intent that is so essential to camp appeal is obliterated by this guy's every clueless interview that asserts how seriously he takes his work (and even a little seriously would be way too seriously in this case). "I think that the majority are laughing with the movie, but some percentage are laughing at the movie, and that’s fine. What do you expect from a movie that was made for less than $10,000? But, I think that the people who are laughing with the movie really like it, they just see through all of its imperfections, and they appreciate the sincerity of the story – a very serious, compelling story," he recently told the Wall Street Journal. For the record, people are only laughing at this thing, if he's lucky, and his assertion regarding the "sincerity of the story – a very serious, compelling story," is exactly the kind of thing they're laughing at.
There's something socially out of touch about Nguyen and if I had to make an armchair-ignorant diagnosis, I'd say he has Asperger's. I mean, who knows, really? It's just a stab at a mind that comes off as alternately complicated and simple. The DVD commentary I mentioned is plagued by the same shitty sound editing as the movie and he repeats himself endlessly. The central point of his rambling goes something like, cars = civilization, and his central question is, "Why did the eagles and vultures attack?” On his so-heavy-handed-it-hurts environmental message conveyed by fake newscasts regarding global warming and polar bears, he assures us, "You really have to watch it closely to catch all that." Is it a lack of intelligence on his part that causes him to question ours? As the commentary goes on, he becomes as insufferable as his film, a pretentious blow-hard that over-explains the overt. He also mispronounces names at random (The Birds is alternately referred to by its actual title and The Bird, and he also says “Angela Jolie” and “Yoko Owner”). I'm not willing to give him the benefit of the language barrier, either: he was born in Vietnam but his family moved to America 36 years ago. It's gotta be something...else.
But look, clearly people are charmed by this guy and his film, and if I can distill what he has to offer, it's in the video above, which cuts together instances of him literally just stating what's on screen during his commentary. His simpleness makes the average director-as-narrator shtick we often hear phoned in on these tracks seem sophisticated and insightful. The video above reminds me of that story John Waters often tells about Edith Massey: they'd go driving and she'd look out the window and just say everything she saw the whole time: mailbox, house, schoolchildren, fence, etc. You know, come to think about it, what the hell was up with Edith Massey?
What I'm mostly saying is: go ahead and laugh at (or if you are one of Nguyen's fantasy viewers, with) Birdemic: Shock and Terror. But at some point, do ask yourself: what the hell am I laughing at?
Jeez, now you're going to make me feel all guilty for my Birdemic love! I was hesitant to watch it because I hate anything that's CONSCIOUSLY so bad it's good, but watching the film with the actors' commentary is what really endeared it to my heart. They have some pretty spectacular filming stories and really do make you realize that, as you point out, James Nguyen is...off. Yes, it's Tommy Wiseau with a Vietnamese accent, but when it yields such gems as "I have to go. I hear a mountain lion. But it was nice meeting you!" I am entertained.
Posted by: EmilyI | March 15, 2011 at 01:02 PM
This one isn't worth watching. It sucks!
Posted by: kate welsh | April 06, 2011 at 09:40 PM