Movie Reviews
Air Guitar Nation
Directed by: Alexandra Lipsitz
Genre: Documentary
Running time: 81 mins
3 stars
Reviewed: 4 October 2007
In 2002 a couple of enterprising American lads discovered a calamitous omission in the world of performing arts. The US, home of Rock and Roll, did not have an entrant in the World Air Guitar Championships, held each year in Finland.
Air Guitar Nation is the documentary by Alexandra Lipsitz that follows the attempt to redress this gross injustice in 2003. She follows our intrepid heroes from the elimination trials in New York and LA, where the supremo C-Diddy (son of some very embarrassed and bemused Korean immigrants) rules the day, while another takes-this-gig-so-seriously-he-needs-therapy-contender, Bjorn Turoque (pronounced “to rock”), nips at his heels, prepared to go to any lengths to secure himself a gig at the Air Guitar Championship finals in Finland where a crowd of roughly 5000 people turn up to watch these aficionados strum and prance with, well, nothing…
As a documentary, this is a carefully paced, well-told story that keeps the viewer wanting to watch, even though the subjects in the film are competing for something that could be seen as roughly the equivalent of the World Lip-Synching Championships. It’s also very much told from the “we’re Americans so we really deserve to own this title” perspective, which got a little irksome after a while.
It’s entertaining however, although a little bit like watching a school concert of second-graders staging Phantom of the Opera — you know they mean well, but you haven’t the heart to tell them that nobody takes it seriously. And these people do take it seriously. There is even a “boot camp” for finalists run a couple of days before the finals, which covers things like “Exercise and Diet for Air Guitarists” and “The Care and Maintenance of Your Air Guitar”.
And I have to say, the winner (I won’t spoil it for you by saying who) was a stand out, but that could be because he’s a professional actor and comedian, unlike the others who seem to be bedroom hacks let loose on the real world when someone left the door unlocked, including the Aussie contender who looks like Yahoo Serious’s crazy, redheaded kid brother.
My favourite moment, however, was the look on the face of the late night TV show host, who felt it necessary to point out to his audience that booking A-lists guests was hard, but you’ve really got to wonder about your place in the scheme of things when the best you can do is the runner-up of the East Coast Air Guitar Semi-Finals.
So, what we have with Air Guitar Nation is the record of a fascinating journey, chronicling the trials and tribulations, the highs and lows, and the quite absurd lengths some people will go to for 60 seconds of glory. By playing… nothing.
