Hey folks, Harry here with Monki checking in with his upside down view of things at SXSW... this time, the Monki craved a documentary on bowling called A LEAGUE OF ORDINARY GENTLEMEN! From the sound of it, it sounds like a very lush documentary on the folks that wear other people's shoes and do the Fred Flintstone/Ralph Kramden thing. Here yus goes...
Monki here checking in from SXSW.
I only caught one film today but I managed to pick up a good one. After just missing out on SURVIVING EDEN, I went and saw A LEAGUE OF ORDINARY GENTLEMEN. (d. Christopher Browne)
If I was to tell you that the most beautifully shot documentary I have ever seen was about bowling, would you believe me? Shot on mostly HD, this film is BEAUTIFUL. The colors shine in this film, you truly have to see it to believe it.
Looking past the aestetics of the film, this film is a great piece on bowling's fall and slow pull back into the limelight.
Bowling gets better ratings than the NHL, the LPGA, and the X-Games but gets about only a fifth of the advertising revenue. The players are just ordinary Joes who happen to be good at bowling. They go into debt, they have families, they have drinking problems.
This film puts a human side to the Professional Bowling Association. Steve Miller acts as the Godfather of bowling. His mission is to get the sport back into the hearts and minds of the nation. His drive is incredibly intense, even more so if once you realize he is talking about BOWLING.
Wayne Webb is a former superstar who fell into the trap of alcohol and partying during his heyday and now is struggling to get back into the spotlight. His story is heartbreaking.
Chris Barnes lives in Dallas with his wife and two baby children. He has to leave his family for weeks at a time just to try to earn money to support them.
Walter Ray Williams Jr. is a bowling phenomenon. He has won some ridiculous amount of tournaments and is well known as the number one bowler in the world.
Pete Weber (or Petey W.) is the bowling rebel. Very much the Happy Gilmore of the PBA. His antics on the bowling lanes are wild and drive the fans crazy. The other players have mixed feelings about him though. He claims its all for the cameras and to help drive up ratings, but you can't help but imagine how much winning means to this guy.
Definately see this one if you can. I didn't get any information about distribution, but for you SXSWers, look for it 3/16 at the Paramount (2:00pm), and 3/18 at the convention center (7:00pm).
Looking forward to seeing BLACKBALLED tomorrow and maybe making an attempt at seeing JERSEY GIRL and HELLBOY. This SXSW is starting off at an amazing pace.
I'll be back with more!
-Monki
