A very unique, zero-budget public TV documentary never officially released on video becomes a rampaging classic of red-sploitation...hmmm.
It's entertaining - completely absorbing in fact, and Jesco White is almost beyond description - John Waters or David Lynch would give up a limb to invent a character so stunningly complex, yet so absolutely bypassed by whatever constitutes contemporary life in America (as seen on TV). When I first saw this, I kept thinking this had to be an elaborate piece of performance art conjured up by some enterprising West Virginia college kids, but this is the real deal. The director attempts (in the most feeble fashion) to add a bit of cultural-anthropological value here, but for the most part this is a total piece of let's-ridicule-the-rednecks exploitation; you can take or leave it on that basis.
BUT - it's also unforgettable, hysterical, and completely surreal in it's entertainment value - not nearly as artful as the similar VERNON, FLORIDA or GREY GARDENS, but just as timeless. So - as a fan of this unique artifact, I'd guess I'm just as low and elitist as the director; oh well...
It's entertaining - completely absorbing in fact, and Jesco White is almost beyond description - John Waters or David Lynch would give up a limb to invent a character so stunningly complex, yet so absolutely bypassed by whatever constitutes contemporary life in America (as seen on TV). When I first saw this, I kept thinking this had to be an elaborate piece of performance art conjured up by some enterprising West Virginia college kids, but this is the real deal. The director attempts (in the most feeble fashion) to add a bit of cultural-anthropological value here, but for the most part this is a total piece of let's-ridicule-the-rednecks exploitation; you can take or leave it on that basis.
BUT - it's also unforgettable, hysterical, and completely surreal in it's entertainment value - not nearly as artful as the similar VERNON, FLORIDA or GREY GARDENS, but just as timeless. So - as a fan of this unique artifact, I'd guess I'm just as low and elitist as the director; oh well...