 DVD
Filmmaker & Lead Actor: Mark Borchardt Mark's Uncle: Uncle Bill
Mark's Mom: Monica Borchardt Mark's Dad: Cliff Borchardt
Director: Chris Smith
30 Second Bottom Line: This documentary follows Mark Borchardt as he makes a movie, with extremely limited resources. Unlike other filmmakers who financed a film with loans from friends and personal credit card lines, Mark's movie does not turn into the success of a "Blair Witch Project."
Story Line: Mark Borchardt is a Dave Letterman-type personality, who lives in a small town in Wisconsin. Even as a youngster he made movies, some of which are really bad. However, his passion is true and he wants to make a horror film. In the process of doing this, life happens. He drops out of school, drinks too much beer and smokes a lot of grass. To make ends meet, some of his jobs reach as high as delivering the morning newspaper.
He started out to make a film called "Northwestern," and because of financial problems he decided to do a 35-minute psychological thriller called "Coven," which he completed and is now selling to raise the money to finish "Northwestern." Mark is a speak-your-mind kind of guy that we all can relate to. At first you may think that he is putting on his over the top personality for the camera, but when you see him relate to his friends and family (which was reinforced the two times I spoke with him one on one), you find he's the real deal. If he has a beer in his hand there is for sure a smile on his face.
He borrowed $3,000 from his Uncle Bill, who is a tightwad, to finance the film. To assure him he will get his money back, the company will sell "Coven" only in the company name and only Mark's uncle has the signature card to cash the checks in the newly opened bank account.
The concept of low budget special effects is beyond hilarious when a character is supposed to go crashing through a door underneath a kitchen sink. They score the door on the inside so it will give in with minimal pressure but it does not work as easily as they think. This is a classic example of a film that when seen with others in a theater will have you laughing till it brings tears to your eyes. But I wonder if it will play as well on the small screen. Yes, it will convey passion about doing something important, but some of the comments and events may seem to be a little dull without the bigger than life images of the large screen.
Tell Me More About It: Mark is a person who can make you look in the mirror and think about the goals you have set for yourself that you have yet to reach. He dreams, but his plan of action and how he conducts his affairs can get in the way. You sense his desperation when you follow him in the pre-dawn hours as he delivers newspapers. He has been on unemployment and welfare trying to make ends meet. You fear that when he does borrow money from his uncle, that he will not pay it back, in spite of his good intentions, and ruin that valuable relationship. One day he opens his mail, some of which is quite old, and decides on who gets paid how much. The highlight of the mail opening session is his absolute delight when he learns that a new credit card has been approved.
Both times I've seen "American Movie" with an audience, the laughter was loud when appropriate and you could also hear people sucking in their breath when things weren't going well. When I saw it at the Roger Ebert Overlooked Film Festival in April 2000, the packed house gave Mark a standing ovation. One can only respect his positive attitude about life. When civics courses incorporate the 21st century, they should include movies like this to prepare young adults for the real world. I'm on at least my third mid-life crisis, so I know for a fact that the sooner you can deal with the real world, the better off you and the world are.
|