Is ‘Troll 2′ really the ‘Best Worst Movie’ ever made?
Best Worst Movie (2010)
Director Michael Stephenson, way back when, in "Troll 2."
Director Michael Stephenson, way back when, in "Troll 2."
The low-budget monster movie Troll 2 spent twenty years ascending the hallowed ranks of “worst movie” polls the world over until finally reaching bottom: it was officially the worst movie ever made.
But, as often happens, it’s the story behind the story that’s the more interesting tale.
Shot in small-town Utah with talent recruited locally, but written and directed by a team of Italians with little to no grasp of the English language (I think “action” and “cut” were about it), Troll 2 is a fantastic example of a movie so bad it’s actually good. Sorta.
“Bad good” is probably the appropriate term (cue Orwell grave rolling).
And yet, the film has developed an intensely loyal band of followers, including, among other luminaries, members of the New York comedy troop, Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB), who have hosted “Troll 2″ nights in their Chelsea space that featured cast members, twenty years on, and fans lined up around the block (some of whom traveled hundreds of miles to get there). The movie is a bizarre, bonafide cultural phenomenon, packing enthusiastic fans into midnight showings all across America. They wear Troll 2 makeup, don Troll 2 costumes and recite favorite Troll 2 lines, like, “You can’t piss on hospitality!” They know the movie is bad (unlike Troll 2’s humorless director), but it’s “perfectly bad.” There’s just something about it that makes it special.
It would be hard to say the same of Best Worst Movie, a documentary that chronicles the phenomenon. Made by Michael Stephenson, one of Troll 2’s lead actors, it’s a mixed bag of veg. The doc is at its best when it focuses on the phenomenon, checking in with the members of UCB and the other midnight events, be they in theaters, basements or wide open fields. Most of the original cast are on board, none more so than the affable, game (too game?) George Hardy. George is a dentist now, living alone in Alabama, and he’s pretty content with his life. He’s got a great staff of ladies who love him and wonderful patients; he’s a bright light in his community. There was a time when he’d considered pursuing his dreams of acting. If Troll 2 is any indication of his talent (“You can’t piss on hospitality!” aside), it’s a good thing he learned himself a trade, and a well-paying one at that. And George, as this doc shows, would be among the first to agree (though not without some sadness).
It’s on the road trip to these midnight screenings, when we get to see Troll 2 and its fans in action, that the doc unleashes its secret weapon: Claudio Fragasso, the man responsible for the phenomenon, the director of Troll 2. Along with his co-screenwriter, Rossella Drudi, they make a somber pair, serious as chest pain, pontificating about theme, message, and the weight of a film that everyone else is laughing at. Best Worst Movie is at its most electrifying when Claudio Fragasso is on screen, the only man not laughing. As his now grown-up actors answer questions in front of audiences both enormous and, sometimes, pathetic, Fragasso bites his thumb in the back, shakes his head, paces, scowls and even shouts out, “You don’t know nothing!”
Margo Prey, in 'Best Worst Movie'
But Best Worst Movie also has something else up its burlap sleeve, and its this B-story that almost sinks the film. Hardy, like Stephenson, is more than game to take this trip down memory lane. And Fragasso seems willing to play along, even if his scowl says otherwise. The last twenty years have not been unkind to any of them. But the same can’t be said for everyone involved, and Stephenson’s stop-off at the home of Margo Prey, who is caring for her old mother, would have been bad enough (she says she wants no part in any of this) without the excruciating Troll 2 reenactments the three of them stage in the dining room. That’s right. Reenactments. When they get outside and Hardy complains that Prey’s mama made no effort at all to hide how desperately she wanted them out of her house, I had to say, “I’m with you, lady.”
But those moments aren’t enough to doom Best Worst Movie. It’s embarrassing, but also fascinating and fun. And in the end, there’s something almost warm and fuzzy about the way the fans of the “worst movie ever made” love the movie. It’s not out of hatred, or dismissal, or schadenfreude. It’s nothing like that. They see the good in all the bad. It’s genuine, they feel, honest, sincere. And their perspective puts them more in line with the earnest team behind the Troll 2 lens than the regular folks who found themselves, once upon a time, for reasons even they can’t explain, in front of it.
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[...] Is 'Troll 2′ really the 'Best Worst Movie' ever made? – Mike … [...]
I’ve written about this twice on my old blog. Yes, it is absolutely the best worst movie ever.
I’d like to read what you wrote. Please share!
In response to another comment. See in context »Yeah, Best Worst Movie is clunky, but the kindheartedness of everyone (except the director) makes it a winning little flick.
However, The Room clearly wins the award for best worst movie ever in terms of sheer entertainment and rewatchability. There’s really no contest. And in terms of the worst movie released in theaters, After Last Season wins that title – probably for all time – as I demonstrated here (shameless plug).
Since you didn’t ask, in the category of worst/best mainstream movie,the award clearly goes to the Wicker Man remake, with the Rollerball remake a close second.
I agree. And that’s a fantastic article you wrote, Joseph. I also wrote about “After Last Season,” the head scratcher to end all head scratchers. Which “The Room” did you mean? I haven’t seen it and there are about a dozen contenders.
In response to another comment. See in context »Thanks, Mike. Can you link to your ASL article?
I’m shocked you haven’t seen “The Room”. You’ve clearly been wasting your time watching quality movies instead of utterly irredeemable trash. Ahem.
Anyway, the AV Club has a great summary of the movie and its charms:
http://www.avclub.com/articles/the-room,25723/
I have a theory about these three incredibly great works of badness. The directors all share a certain clumsiness with English, yet they chose to make movies in it instead of their native language. I feel it must be a requirement for a Top Notch Terrible Movie for it to be done by someone far from fluent. No native speaker would write the kind of ridiculous lines these movies have. And, of course, the corollary is that somewhere there’s an American making equally bad movies in some foreign locale that we’ll never get to appreciate the idiocy of.
I like your theory, Joseph, and have thought along similar lines anytime I’ve been watching a Hong Kong action flick where, invariably, an English speaking actor makes an appearance. It is always – always – cringe inducing. Something (how to act?) is definitely lost in translation.
Here’s a link to my far inferior ALS post:
http://trueslant.com/mikeharvkey/2009/06/15/revisiting-the-wtf-film-of-the-year-after-last-season/
And here, far more entertaining, is the LATEST trailer for ALS, promoting its DVD:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GE80U0n8G80
In response to another comment. See in context »[...] Is ‘Troll 2′ really the ‘Best Worst Movie’ ever made? (trueslant.com) [...]
[...] to the recent documentary on the B-movie,”Best Worst Movie,” making the rounds on the critical and national moviegoing [...]
I saw Best Worst Movie last year at TIFF and I’m so excited It’s coming to theatres in Canada now! They’re doing a Troll 2 / Best Worst Movie double feature nationwide. They even made some funny original videos to promote it, this one is “Best Worst French Kiss” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6-hYeBZDYs