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AIR GUITAR NATION
Directed by: Alexandra Lipsitz.
Produced by: Dan Cutforth, Jane Lipsitz & Anna Barber.
Cinematography by: Anthony Sacco.
Edited by: Conor O’Neill.
Music by: Dan Crane.
Released by: Shadow Distribution.
Country of Origin: USA. 82 min. Rated: R.

A documentary about competitive international air guitarists? That said, no matter how much you steel yourself up for it, it’s hard not to spend the first half-hour of this movie wanting to mock everything you see onscreen. That’s especially unfortunate because the first half-hour justifies why playing air guitar shouldn’t be mocked.

Some participants say they play air guitar because it’s the truest form of artistic expression. For others, it promotes world peace. Most don’t say anything serious at all. When one of the event’s organizers says, “It’s less absurd to watch than figure skating, if you think about it,” you begin to accept that this might be a legitimate art form.

There really aren’t many emotional highs or lows. Nor is there an overall plot arc or sense of purpose beyond the competition itself. Director Alexandra Lipsitz takes us from New York to Los Angeles to Oulu, Finland, where the tournament for the world’s best amateur air guitarist finds its winner. But what makes the whole endeavor stand out is the pervading, unmistakable exuberance that almost everyone interviewed exudes. Excitement, joy, and a complete lack of inhibition oozes out of each drunken audience member at the U.S. championships, to say nothing of the shouting, drunk contestants.

Lipsitz focuses on the first year, 2003, when America entered the competition, hence the title’s patriotic bent. When U.S. Champion, C. Diddy, reaches Finland, he finds an international spectacle with press conferences and lush hotel suites. But the American leg of C. Diddy’s journey from a citywide competition above a strip club in Manhattan to the finals at a small venue in Los Angeles illustrates the stateside competition’s fledgling beginnings. C. Diddy, who can rouse a crowd with ease and won over New York by wearing a Hello Kitty backpack strapped to his chest like a halter top, initially stumbled into the tournament by chance and happened to win. His performance only helps to make the film even more gleeful. Zachary Jones
March 23, 2007