Air Guitar Nation
|
List Price: Our Price: $0.94 You Save: $14.01 (94%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $0.49 (click here) Category: DVD See more DVD releases |
|---|
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
Movie Reviews of Air Guitar Nation
Movie Review: F... YEAH
Summary: 5 Stars
On the upper eschelon order of Spinal Tap, but reality. I laughed and I cried and snotted on my clothes. It was that freaking good. (surprising as it may seem)Movie Review: wacky fun
Summary: 4 Stars
"Air Guitar Nation" is probably the best documentary ever made about a non-subject. Air Guitar, for those unfamiliar with the term, is the art of playing heavy metal guitar sans the actual guitar. It's what every spastic, tone-deaf teenager with dreams of one day becoming the next Jimi Hendrix has done in the privacy of his own bedroom since the late 1960's. Who could ever have imagined that a whole subculture and cottage industry would one day spring up around an activity that most of us probably never admitted to doing even to our closest buddies?
Yet, that is exactly what has happened, and in its rise to semi-"respectability," Air Guitar has gathered unto itself a bevy of impassioned, hardcore fans who see nothing crazy in cheering on a wannabe guitarist as he mimics the moves of actual music-making immortals like Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton on stage. Indeed, the Air Guitar movement even boasts its own roster of revered icons and pioneers and has established well-attended competitions on the local, national and international level as a means of showcasing its finest talents and garnering itself some much-needed publicity. The movie follows two of the key figures in the field, C-Diddy and Bjorn Turoque - each with his own very different hard rocker persona - as they head to the 2003 Air Guitar championship held in Oulu, Finland.
The basic charm of "Air Guitar Nation" lies in its ability to acknowledge the silliness of the whole concept while, at the same time, evincing a genuine, heartfelt affection for both the activity and those who participate in it. Indeed, far more time is spent getting to know the "musicians" as people than in watching them actually perform. What is most striking about the young men is just how reserved, shy and self-effacing they are by nature until they take to the stage and simply cut loose with all their wild gesticulations and antics at the behest of the adoring crowd. It is then that they become truly transformed, so much so that even the most cynical scoffer may find himself caught up in the spirit of the moment, sweating out the contest's ultimate outcome right along with the participants. The men also face their inexplicable status as celebrities with a clear-eyed rationality, not taking themselves or their accomplishments all that seriously (their satirical names alone reflect that playful spirit), a fact that makes the whole thing at least palatable for those who still may not quite "get it" even after the closing credits have rolled on by.
Movie Review: A hilarious surprise
Summary: 4 Stars
I saw this at the Angelica months ago without any expectations or thoughts on air guitar. By the end I was so caught up in the competition and performances I found myself cheering. The final winning performance from the one who would be crowned air guitar international campion has to be seen to be experienced. I found myself recommending this film all over the place. The soundtrack is fantastic too.
Movie Review: Air It Out
Summary: 4 Stars
Light as air and undeniably silly but as fun as the title implies.I knew close to nothing about the subject beforehand and as much as I need to know afterwards. It's pretty family friendly as well.
Diana Mercer is the co-author of Your Divorce Advisor and her company is [..]
Movie Review: A fun flick, way overrated here
Summary: 3 Stars
3.5 stars
The hyperbole of the other reviews here is extreme; comparing this to Spinal Tap is way off base. It's nowhere near as funny, fresh, or ingenious. Yeah, it's good, but it ain't one of the great documentaries of all time.
This is indeed a fun film, full of good vibes and nice guys. But damn, it's just slooow at points! The filmmakers keep it basic, and I think they lost a lot of potential humor doing that.
I may be biased in that I saw The King of Kong a couple of months ago, and that to me was the truly classic movie others found this to be. Side by side, Air Guitar comes off as a student film, not technically, but in that while Kong often surprises and plays with your expectations, this film merely shows what happened, and somewhat blandly at times. AGN is just straight narrative, and while all the characters are pleasant, the only real pay-off is when C. Diddy gets the approval of his parents at the end, and his Mom does the metal sign. That was touching, but the rest of this movie was merely a fair doc on a funny subject, and nothing that really involved me. I just think it could have been cut and paced in a more rock and roll way, in light of its subject.
Hey, I love air guitar and real guitar, but I've seen way better air guitarists than this many times in many places. As far as humor goes, I laughed out loud during King of Kong nine times (I started counting after four; it's rare to get that many big laughs out of my jaded humor center); I didn't really have one gut laugh during this film. Just a lot of smiles. I'm all for smiles, but they ain't belly laughs.
I liked AGN, but it's far from a masterpiece. No offense to those who love it---each of us must march to his own (air) drummer. Diddy and Bjorn are nice guys, but wait until Billy and Steve get on dvd; now that's some truly five-star goofiness.
I've watched Spinal Tap more than a dozen times; I don't regret watching Air Guitar Nation, but I doubt I'll ever want to see it again.