Ringers: Lord of the Fans
Directed by Carlene Cordova
This documentary deals chiefly with chronicling the massive fanatical following that J.R.R. Tolkien’s masterpiece brought about. From it's rise to fame in the 60's, to it's misapplied philosophies throughout the drug-addled 70's, it's failed theatrical attempts in the 80's, then to the 90's where the work seemed all but forgotten by a new disaffected generation, and lastly to the new millennium, where The Lord of the Rings achieved a re-energized and unprecedented level of fame and fortune by way of Peter Jackson’s beloved film trilogy.
This started out well enough, giving factual background information on the Professor himself, relating how his epic books changed the face of literature, and how critics were strongly divided for and against these new “fairy tales." It is, to be sure, an interesting study of culture and influence. But about halfway through it drops the ball, going into a great deal of superfluous detail on things like the front cover artwork for the different print editions. There is also a lot of annoying and distracting b-roll footage. For each decade they cover, a room of teens is shown reading the book (dressed in bellbottoms early on, then flannel shirts and ripped jeans later), dancing to the generic music of the time, and irritating the brains out of the viewer. Various quotes appear onscreen, swerving around to disco music while a lava lamp-like background consistently pounds the word ‘retro’ into your head. We get the point! To be advised, however, that against these points it is not a third-rate documentary. Actor Dominic Monaghan (who portrayed Merry in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and now of Lost fame) narrates the film, which also features interviews with several authorities on fantasy work, movies, and pop culture in general. These people include Sir Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen, Cameron Crowe, Clive Barker, Terry Brooks, andTerry Pratchett, who all provide genuinely fascinating and entertaining anecdotes and opinions.
The filmmakers interviewed people standing in line for the release of the films, traveled to Hobbiton, California, and provided a booth at a Lord of the Rings convention, where fans could pour their hearts out to a camera, revealing their own special love for Middle-Earth. As far as fanaticism goes, there was a surprising lack of stories concerning just how bad people have got it for Frodo and the rest of them. There was one story about a woman who had sold her house in the United States in order to afford attending the premiere of The Return of the King in New Zealand. That was pretty much the only case of extreme fanaticism I saw. I happen to know of a couple who gave their child a first and middle name after two female characters from the book, and in something where the word “fans” actually sits in the title itself, I was expecting to hear more about the people themselves, and less a history lesson on publication. So be forewarned; only the really hard-core Middle-Earth fans out there should trouble themselves with Ringers.
Grading:
Story = B-
Originality = B
DVD Features = B-
Acting = N/A
Enjoyability = C+
Visuals = C (bloody b-roll...)
Overall = C+
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