A Look at Fandom
I am not willing to go that far. When the Sox are really bad, I still watch the games, I still attend the games, but I freely criticize and complain. Although I am a notorious complainer so that really isn’t saying much. I am not willing to extend fandom to actors and musicians. I have a ridiculous dedication to the writer Stephen King, but even he has written a couple of things I have been unable to finish or get through. I do, however, have a friend who is willing to put himself out there for whatever he is a fan of even if the thing he is a fan of is really stinking up the joint.
I think this friend will know who he is and what I am talking about. See, he and I are fans of the actor Jack Black. This friend of mine actually kind of discovered Jack when Jack was a bit player on the “Mr. Show” comedy show on HBO so I have to give him credit for spotting the talent first. Jack is part of a “heavy metal” group known as Tenacious D. This is a very funny duo of Jack and his friend playing heavy metal tunes with acoustic guitars and huge egos. It’s hilarious and they did a bunch of very funny short shows that ran just after “Mr. Show” for a while. This is where I started to like the guy. The problem is that Jack Black has made some truly awful stinker movies and I could tell they were stinker movies just by the previews.
I usually put a lot of stock in the film critics. I tend to like Roger Ebert’s reviews because I think he is a great writer and enjoy the way he writes. I do disagree with him from time to time. However, I do peruse the reviews of movies that I am uncertain about when I see the commercials. If the reviews are overwhelmingly negative then I don’t shell out ten bucks to see a movie no matter who is starring in it. I don’t feel the need to support the guy I like if I feel that the movie is a stinker. I feel that, in some way, by withholding my money I am encouraging that person to stay away from those sub-par projects and seek out things more suited for them. Well, not this friend of mine.
What is the ultimate example of this and how does this tie in with Jack Black? Well, first, Jack is on my mind because his new movie “Nacho Libre” opens today. The commercials have left me thinking it looks sort of amusing but it also looks like it could drift into the stupid. Having now read at least one review of it, I don’t think I will be shelling out my ten bucks. My friend, however, is such a fan of Jack Black he actually did the most dangerous thing I could imagine. He took the time to drive to a movie theater, reach into his wallet and pull out money, use effort to walk into a theater and then used his eyes and brain to watch and process the movie “Saving Silverman.”
This is taking fandom too far. I remember when that movie came out. I remember thinking, hey, that’s Jack Black and he’s pretty funny. Then I saw the scenes they chose to show during the commercials. See, with the previews and the commercials they tend to pick the best bits that are allowed on television and use those to try to get you into the theater. When I saw the clips with Jack Black and they didn’t even crack a smile on my face I knew that “Saving Silverman” was a disaster. I was not going to pay money even though I like Jack Black because I was not going to support the continued production of such crap. Well, not my friend. To somehow show his support for his actor of choice he was willing to sit through that horrible piece of crap.
Have you seen this movie? I am pretty sure you can’t watch this movie. It’s like the killer joke bit from the old Monty Python’s Flying Circus show. You can only watch it in bits and pieces because if you try to watch the whole thing I think you risk serious brain damage. I have never been able to watch this movie from beginning to end. It is painful.
My friend is willing to do the same thing for actors like David Cross. He is also willing to buy music and see shows for any musician who was ever in the group Wilco. Sometimes this pays off even despite the critics (sorry, but “Pootytang” makes me laugh despite being ridiculous). Most of the time it turns out that this is not the case.
I admire him for being willing to put his body and sanity on the line to support someone or something for which he is a fan. I just worry about him passing along this insanity to his future children. This friend recently got married, so maybe his wife will read this and be able to help put a stop to this madness. Otherwise every variation of “Saving Silverman” will have that family sitting in the cold dark theaters putting their intelligence and sanity at risk.
I think I will wait until “Nacho Libre” comes to video.
