I Knocked the Wind Out of My Stomach
Semi-New Idea Alert! / Dustin Rowles
Trade News | December 23, 2008 | Comments (15)
I can’t quite pinpoint the original mockumentary, though it may have been the television movie All You Need is Cash, which inspired This is Spinal Tap, which was the first mockumentary that mattered. It was the best, and mockumentaries have been trying to top it since it was released in 1984, though no one — not even Christopher Guest — has managed to top it (Drop Dead Gorgeous came within the same area code, while “The Office,” equaled it, though it’s a mockumentary only in the loosest sense). Sadly, most who attempt it aren’t quite able to balance the serious with the absurd as well as Rob Reiner (RIP) did in Spinal Tap.
The latest to attempt it is an unknown, Joseph Petrick, with his mockumentary of an invention competition, The Mother of Invention. I very much doubt it’ll come close to topping Spinal Tap, but the premise is brilliant (and kind of original, even — who knew there were new ideas available?), and the trailer suggests, at the very least, a mildly amusing film. Plus, Jimmi Simpson stars, who some of you may know as the slightly psychopathic intern on Letterman as well as Liam McPoyle, one of the creepy hillbilly molesters on “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.” Chris Hardwick stars, too — and when you see him, you’re going to do two triple-takes trying to remember where you know him from before it dawns on you: He was the host of “Singled Out,” the MTV dating show with Jenny McCarthy.
Anyway, according to both the trailer and the website, the film has yet to find distribution, which sounds about right. Why would a studio want to pony up money to invest in a movie audiences might actually enjoy? It goes against everything Hollywood studios believe in.
Here’s the trailer:
“The Mother of Invention” Official Trailer from Andrew Bowser on Vimeo.
Comments
Posted by: Sabrina at December 23, 2008 5:24 PM
I would see this for the McPoyle and Singled Out host alone, but now that I can possibly view another person spray themselves in the face with mace (I am soooo talented), I want this to happen even more.