The estimable Hot Docs Festival in Toronto kicked off last night. The festival runs April 30-May 10. The Toronto Star got their hands on the new trailer for the documentary, “Best Worst Movie,” which some of us saw at SXSW, thought was pretty great and called it a “warm bear hug to the entertaining power of bad-but-fun cinema.”
It’s basically about Michael Stephenson, a then-11-year-old who starred in one of the most bizarre and reviled films ever, the inimitable “Troll 2,” and this documentary is an exploration of its subsequent cult status. Here’s the official synopsis and the new trailer is below.
When 11-year-old Michael Stephenson and dentist George Hardy were cast in Troll 2, they were surely destined for stardom. Unfortunately, combining low-budget production with an amateur cast, an Italian director no one could understand, and a script about vegetarian goblins resulted in a train wreck of a film that became widely regarded as the “worst movie ever.” Twenty years later, thanks to a new generation of viewers who value a “so bad it’s good” aesthetic, Troll 2 has become a cult phenomenon. In Best Worst Movie, Stephenson follows Hardy and the rest of the cast as they reunite to greet adoring fans at Troll 2 screenings in major cities across North America. Can Hardy return to dentistry after signing autographs in packed movie houses and receiving hundreds of hits a day on MySpace? Discover the heart and soul behind one of the most beloved straight-to-video flops ever. Lynne Crocker.
We’re kicking ourselves a little, because some of us know Toronto very well yet we failed to call upon our homeboys in advance to check some stuff out and deliver some review love. Maybe one of them will see this. Some of us have yet to see “Best Worst Movie” (namely me), but are dying to do so. It looks entertaining.