NBT
(a film review by Mark R. Leeper)

CAPSULE: This is an often hilarious and painfully on-target mockumentary about people who are pulled into special interest cults like "Star Trek" or, in this case, frozen entree fandom. How these interests interlock has never been treated in film and at least this first time the result is a gem of a film. Rating: +2 (-4 to +4) or 7/10

I was a science fiction fan from about the age of six and when I got to college I discovered science fiction fandom. There were people who got together to discuss science fiction. There were conventions for people who had the interest. Some people were fanatical on the subject. There was a great deal of politics in the fandom having little to do with science fiction itself. In addition there were interlocking fandoms. People who had the time and capacity to be drawn into one such fandom would be drawn into others--and to be just as fanatical in others. There is fantasy fandom. There are rabid fans of "Star Trek". (Some of the members very seriously believe that the series gave us an openness of thought that allowed us to survive the Cold War. They literally believe that "Star Trek" saved the world.) Another fandom is for "Star Wars". Then there is one for comic books. Another one is for Japanese animation. There is a related fandom for games and particularly war gaming. Old time radio is the subject of another. There is the Society for Creative Anachronism that studies history and frequently reenacts events and styles. They segue into historical reenactors. My wife is active in a separate fandom for alternate history, stories of how history might have taken different turns if various small details of history had happened differently.

Some films have treated these individual subcultures: films like TREKKIES, and George Romero's best film, KNIGHTRIDERS. Now a new pseudo-documentary or mockumentary looks at strange interlocking subcultures. NBT starts by investigating frozen entree fandom. These are people who collect and cherish frozen TV dinners much like comic book fans collect comics. A mint condition TV dinner is NBT--never been thawed. There is not such fandom that I have ever heard of in reality, but I suspect this film might spawn one.

Fans of TV dinners, apparently, have special heroes among the package designers. They wait avidly for Swanson to release TV dinners with new side dishes. They hold conventions to allow the fans to meet the people behind the selection in your grocer's frozen food section.

From there the documentary moves out into inter-linked subcultures, many of the religious right. There is a hilarious if somewhat off-color look at the work of people at a sexual abstinence hotline. An extended segment on the religious right co-opting a hard rock band is further from my experience and I could only appreciate the segment as whimsical. But when the film described how a frozen food fan had furnished his apartment to accommodate his collection of frozen TV dinners, a friend laughed hard with recognition and embarrassment. Her apartment which is floor to ceiling books (and even has stored books in her oven) is no less ridiculous.

NBT is a little uneven with most of the big laughs in the first half of the film. This may have just seemed that way to me because the groups we see at the beginning are more similar to my own experience. But the film never drops below being a lot of fun. It also captures an aspect of the American people that many know exists and few have ever looked at on film. Certainly the multiplicity of interlocking weird subcultures is something I have never seen treated in cinema before. In fact perhaps even the filmmakers do not know how accurate an assessment it really is. It may be that rare film that is better than the filmmakers realize.

Certainly for people who know special interest groups like "Star Trek" fandom this is a highly recommended comedy, even if they find it a little painful. This is a small film that may not be seen by many people. Perhaps the release can get financial support from Swanson. I give NBT a +2 on the -4 to +4 scale or 7/10.

Mark R. Leeper
mleeper@optonline.net
Copyright 2005 Mark R. Leeper