It's up for debate how serious or ironic its subjects are, but Air Guitar Nation is nonetheless a funny and exciting documentary with a killer soundtrack.
It's up for debate how serious or ironic its subjects are, but Air Guitar Nation is nonetheless a funny and exciting documentary with a killer soundtrack.
In this documentary from filmmaker Alexandra Lipsitz, the cameras roll to capture the fierce competitive spirit that defined the first annual U.S. Air Guitar Championship. Staged in Finland and featuring some of the fastest-fingered shredders on the planet, the U.S. Air Guitar Championship would bring a hobby once contained to the bedroom directly into the spotlight for all to enjoy. Featured jam sessions and interviews with both the performers and their "airhead" groupies offer a humorous look
at an unlikely competition driven by pure showmanship. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
Sure, there is an infectious goofiness in watching a grown man in a red robe and Hello Kitty breastplate rock out on an imaginary ax. But the gag is spread pretty thin.
In this pitch-perfect documentary about the very real rise of air guitar competition in the United States, and two of its top performers, stony thoughts will arise as to whether one is suddenly trapped inside a satire that got wrapped in a reality.
The suggestion is that C-Diddy can be seen as a sort of ambassador for the 'make air, not war' sentiment. Why not? Even as real ambassadors go, we could do worse.
A favorite on the film festival circuit, Alexandra Lipsitz's exuberantly funny documentary follows the triumphant path of an American air guitarist as he rises from U.S. East Coast champ to the top rankings of the international air guitar festival.
Put aside all of your preconceptions of air guitar as a hobby of shamelessly untalented wanna-be guitar players, and step into the world of competitive air guitar.
When a documentary is as entertaining as Air Guitar Nation, you have to ask if you really need it to have redeeming social value or to advance the art form in any way.
This raucously entertaining documentary about one of the silliest competitions on the planet actually has a serious message about the power of "airness" to change the world. Well, maybe.
There must be better, more useful ways of amusing themselves but obviously none which would allow them to strut the stage to the plaudits of a baying crowd like latter-day rock stars.
While quite possibly the stupidest thing you've ever seen in your life, this documentary exploring the world of air guitar enthusiasts is a riot from start to finish.
A gloriously insane journey into the weirder reaches of rock, Air Guitar Nation is a funny, funky and oddly moving burst of lively factual entertainment.
Hugely entertaining, frequently hilarious documentary with colourful, warm-hearted characters and an infectious energy that'll send you bouncing out of the cinema with a goofy grin on your face.
Air Guitar Nation is a very well-made film and it tells its story at a quick, even pace, but you really need to suspend your disbelief if you're going to allow this film to fully wrap you in its charms.
Air Guitar Nation is insanely entertaining. Honestly, I put this movie off for a long time thinking that there was no way I was going to be entertained or at all care about air guitar. But it's really easy to like and actually dare I say respect what they are doing. C-Diddy and Bjorn Turoque are really likable in their
own weird way and that's what makes the movie as they are the prime focus of the documentary. Some of the things the players say and so just make you laugh and then you see they aren't laughing and you think, "Wait, Are they serious?" To some extent they are, but the good thing is they only do it to have fun and I have to say it's a lot of fun to watch them.
July 1, 2011
Melvin White
Super Reviewer
This is a really fun movie to watch. It starts with a ridiculous premise, but eventually wins you over with its exhuberance and, I hate to say it, skill. Some of the guys who compete are really quite accomplished in thier strange field and are pretty impressive to watch. This movie is like watching multiple love
letters to rock music, if not guitar aptitude. It's too bad that Dan Crane kind of comes off as a bit desperate and pathetic. He's not too bad, but his tenacity makes him kind of a tragic character.
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