30 second bottom line:
"Gigantic: A Tale of Two Johns" is an inventive and amusing documentary about the quirky alternative rock group, They Might Be Giants. The film features some hilarious mock documentary footage, celebrity interviews, and plenty of clips of the band in concert and in the studio.
Story Line:
"Gigantic: A Tale of Two Johns" documents the rise of one of the most unusual pop music groups, They Might be Giants. The film opens with some hysterical documentary footage, which absurdly connects the genesis of the band with Abraham Lincoln. Former Illinois senator, Paul Simon, narrates the clip.
The film examines the group from its beginnings as an underground duo and shows how they eventually become a big label band with an expanded lineup. John Flansburgh and John Linnell both grew up in Lincoln, MA and they were childhood friends. The two began as They Might be Giants and they ended up performing in the East Village performance art scene in the early `80's.
They gained attention with their creative videos and their Dial-A-Song project, which offered a new song every day for public consumption.
Their label's new management didn't know what to do with the band, and they treated them poorly. After sparring repeatedly with the label bosses, the band ended up going back to a small label. They had a resurgence of sorts, when they won a Grammy for their "Malcolm in the Middle" theme song.
Tell me more about it:
Because of their clever lyrics, quirky pop sound, and their nerdy image, They Might be Giants is reminiscent of late `70s, arty, new wave bands such as Talking Heads, Pere Ubu, and Devo. Because of their use of the accordion, some have dubbed the group's music as alternative polka.
The film includes some decent interviews with celebrities associated with the group such as former Pixie front man, Frank Black; "People" magazine pop critic, Michael Small; the standup comic, Janeane Garofalo, alternative song writer, Syd Straw; and Chicago National Public Radio show host, Ira Glass.
Harry Shearer, Michael McKean, and Janeane Garofalo deliver absurd, overly dramatic readings of They Might Be Giant songs in the mock spoken word segments of the film. These performances don't add to our understanding of the band, but they do provide a few cheap laughs.
The film incorporates many of the band's finest and best loved songs, including their early hit, "Ana N G;" the ridiculous, "Particle Man;" "I Hope I Die Before I Get Old," their nerdy response to The Who's "My Generation"; and "The Malcolm in the Middle" theme song, "Boss of Me." Their lyrics tend to be either really witty or extremely annoying.
The film's most surreal clip shows the band jamming with Doc Severensen on the Tonight Show on their song," Birdhouse In Your Soul." Jazz purists will be likely to cringe at the number.
"Gigantic" won some dubious honors. In last year's prestigious "Village Voice" critic's poll, it won the award for best-unreleased film, and a www.aintitcoolnews.com critic, put it on his list of "10 Great Films You Probably Didn't See in 1992."
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