Reviews by Brandon Judell
Fever Pitch
Can
anyone out-Michael-Moore Michael Moore?
Writer/director/producer:
Willard Morgan
Cast: Willard Morgan, His Camera, Michael Moore, Tom Arnold, Dov S-S Simens,
Dennis Woodruff
Reviewed by Brandon Judell
Can anyone out-Michael-Moore Michael Moore?
Writer/director/producer Willard Morgan certainly tries and succeeds--at
least in persistence-- with his frantic documentary, "Fever Pitch,"
which is
currently making the festival scene.
The main difference between these two obsessed filmmakers is that Mr. Moore has a political bent and a love for the common man, while Mr. Morgan's love is more celluloid-based. He's one of those delightfully deranged souls who pepper our nation with their love for filmmaking, the industry, and achieving fame.
In "Fever Pitch," as in his "Festival Fever" and "Confessions
of a Filmaholic," Morgan is the star. We watch him wake up and, once
woken, watch out.
Moorage's day is driven by an aggressive pursuit for acknowledgment of his
talent. Thank heavens, it's quite a funny pursuit.
We get to watch Tom Arnold lecturing on film, a subject he's only slightly
more familiar with than the relativity theory. Then Moorage's camera catches
up with several other weird figures which shed a similar warped light on Hollywood.
But best of all is his unyielding pursuit of Michael Moore. Having sent a
video copy of his Festival Fever to Moore, he now wants a response. Moore
refuses to give him one, thinking that Morgan is a psychologically unbalanced
stalker of the moderately famous.
Thankfully, Morgan can laugh at himself, and he can laugh with us laughing at him.
The finale fittingly takes place on the HOLLYWOOD sign. What better site for a film about a grand passion that needs chemicals to develop. Whether it's a worthwhile passion will depend on Mr. Morgan's's future achievements. "Fever Pitch" holds promise. [Judell]
Copyright © Brandon Judell 2002
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