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Summary: It's Every Budding Director's Fear...
Review: "...is this who I am?"Am I going to go into debt and max out my credit cards and [tick] off my parents and never move out and fall flat on my face with nothing to show for it ending up as a thirty year-old paperboy with kids to provide for and no prospects? Mark didn't. With big dreams and a big mouth, Mark succeeded where everyone, including his family and some of his closest friends (are they REALLY friends?) thought he would fail. Mark's dream for a feature-length movie "Northwestern" is chronicled by two skilled interviewers over a period of 2 years as Mark and his colorful band of Wisconsin bar hounds and local thespians switch gears from the financially troubled film to the occult-themed short film "Coven." The documentary of Mark's efforts also explains a lot of what drives a man to make a film and shows, in long painful shots, how unglamorous it can be for someone to pull it all off. At the same time I first watched this movie, I was making my own High-8 movie and let me tell you - it hurt sometimes to watch Mark let it all hang out on camera, trumpeting my own Id and my fears. If you're thinking about making a movie, or if you wonder what's underneath the posturing, stylized and naive arrogance that is the average film student - watch this movie. Then as only the Limited Edition DVD provides - view the fruit of Mark's efforts in the provided copy of "Coven". In any event - I want Mike Schank to play guitar at my next party and tell of his ... experiences all night. He is a hoot. You'll know why when you watch this movie.
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Summary: It's the real life "Bottle Rocket"... or is it?
Review: "American Movie" is about the people we see and dismiss every day. The convenience store clerk, the guy emptying the trash cans at the mall, the cemetary grounds keeper... it takes one of these people we barely acknowledge and just sort of feel bad for, and shows us that they can be far more interesting and have grander dreams than any movie character or celebrity. Honest to God, I don't know if this is a real documentary or a fictional "mockumentary", and looking at other reviews, I don't know if anyone else does. Ultimately it doesn't matter; this is a very touching, very funny, and occasionally very depressing film. What it reminds me of is Wes Anderson's "Bottle Rocket", in that it's very dry and unassuming, yet still manages to say something very profound about the human condition. If there was any question that the wacky characters in "Bottle Rocket" were so striking because really they were incredibly real, then this movie (if it is indeed a documentary) removes all doubt. In a perfect world, someone as intelligent and creative and determined as our hero Mike would be destined for the success he so desperately wants and deserves, yet the movie draws it's sadness from the fact that we know that the real world just isn't a movie. The movie ends with Mike's premier of "Coven", so it's hard to say whether or not he's going to make it, but you're certainly left hoping he does. "American Movie" is terribly unique and very hard to pin down. It's not for everyone - I'm not even sure it's for me - but it's such a multi-faceted film, I can't imagine anyone not getting SOMETHING out of it. Oh, and it's very funny.
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Summary: Mark Borchardt is a Winner
Review: "American Movie" is funny from beginning to end. Sure, its sad that the main character is a loser who is getting old, living in a nowhere town, and under the false impression that he is going to be the next big horror film director, but it is the fact that, even though it is totally obvious to the viewer (and even the main character's family members) that there is no hope in this man ever leaving his home town and achieving his dream, he refuses to see that his efforts to become a famous film director are futile. This film is just GREAT on so many different levels: You can laugh with and at the people in this film, and at the end, despite being depressed for Mark Borchardt, you've gotta love this guy's drive and energy, and the fact that his head is permanently in the clouds. In a way, I actually admire the guy.
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Summary: the best film i ever saw or am likely to see
Review: "American Movie" is quite simply the best film ever made. Anyone that disagrees with me is just wrong.
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Summary: A must have for anyone who buys Movies
Review: A story about human life. You don't need to spend months looking for intresting people (MTV real world) everyone's story is intresting if told correctly. Real life is never boring. This is a really entertaining documentary. Definetely a slice of life.
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Summary: An Oscar Worthy Documentary
Review: A very intriguing documentary follows a native Wisconscinite determined to make a horror movie. The film follows two years into his life as a guy who moves from job to job with two dysfunctional parents, a drugged up best friend, and an elderly uncle reluctant to give his money to the man. A real taste of life for a guy who just wants to get a movie made. The film has shots from old horror films he made as a kid, interviews with cynical family members, and the man dwelling in his small town while obsessing with horror movies.
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Summary: Ours Goes to "11"
Review: All I kept thinking while watching this was, "These Guys Are For REAL!!" What at first glance may appear to be tragic view of a man with a vision, the bottom line is that the only people who could possibly think this movie is mean spirited are elitists who look down on Mark Borchardt and Mike Schank.
I don't watch this movie with derision or condensation -- I feel for Mark. Although I am not a movie maker (just a movie fan) I appreciate and empathise with Mark and all of his innumerable obstacles -- scheduling extras, arranging financing, and a vision that no one around him always shares, or even always appreciates.
GO MARK GO!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Depressing and bleak.
Review: Although there were parts that were funny, my overall impression of "American Movie" was one of sadness mixed with an overwhelming feeling of guilt. I wanted to turn it off, but I was glued to the TV in horror. Interesting to see other people's interpretations of this film, but I still can't give it more than two stars. (And that's really being generous, I think.) Blech.
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Summary: The Great American Movie
Review: American Movie is a film like no other you have seen or will ever see again. A colorful, insightful and enormously entertaining documentary about an independent filmmaker from any town U.S.A and his dreams to make the great American Movie.
Mark Borchardt is a fast talking, hard working, (and hard drinking) everyman, who also happens to know something few of us know. He knows how to keep trying, how to find a way to keep believing and he knows how to be very, very entertaining - even if he's not trying to be. He's the kind of guy you talk to over the fence in your backyard, the guy who never seems to run out of interesting things to say, or interesting ways to say them. You can't help but feel a strong affection for him, and you want him to succeed at all costs. You hurt when he hurts because he struggles like we all struggle - against societal conventions. Despite the fact that so little seems to be going right in his life, he seems to be more content and driven than all the "Rat-Racers" he rebels against...and for that I envy him greatly.
Mark's colorful cast of friends (who have been there since childhood), are very loving and supportive, the kind of friends one hopes will never vanish. They seem to know the filmmakers very soul like a book they've read a thousand times. Mike Shank - the guitar virtuoso, lottery addicted but recently sober buddy assists Mark during every single production ..... and he's more fun than a barrel of monkeys. Uncle Bill, the filmmakers elderly bankroll man is lovable and tragic. He draws strength from the energy and passion he absorbs watching Mark struggle with his various film projects. Like myself, I get the impression that Uncle Bill envies Mark as well, not because he's younger and healthier, but because he still believes that there is something great around every corner.
This film will make you re-evaluate what's important in your life, make you wish you didn't lay that passion down so many years ago. It's inspiring, it's refreshing and most importantly it's real. I can't recommend this film enough, and it bears many, many repeat viewings.
Rating:
Summary: Mandatory
Review: American Movie is an absolutely enjoyable and strangely fascinating documentary by the filmmaking team of director CHRIS SMITH and producer SARAH PRICE. It's a story about following your dream. The subject of the film is a young, fiercely dedicated, self-defined filmmaker Mark Borchardt. Borchardt, who was born and lives in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin and who has, since the age of 14, been trying to fulfill his dream of becoming a successful Hollywood feature film director . . . in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, is one of the most genuine and interesting documentary subjects you could imagine. "But I've never heard of him," you say. I know. He's not yet famous but he's still fascinating. In this delightful and thoroughly honest film, you'll see how this young man, now 30-something, continues to pursue his "impossible dream" despite his parents' wishes that he get a job in a factory, his lack of any serious financial backing, and many years of dreaming and drinking when, as he says himself, he should've been working on his films. In this very intimate film you'll see some of his work and follow very closely as he pursues capital investment ($3,000) from his very tight-fisted and colorful uncle, enlists his mother to be an extra as she explains that she really needs to go shopping instead, and shoots and edits his film with the constant and loyal support of his long-time friend, Mike Schank. Mike has been his friend since childhood. He's a musician, a guitarist, and admitted drug abuser (though he's been clean for the last four years.) He's a kind of real-life "Reverend Jim" from TV's Taxi. He has definitely been affected by all the various drugs and alcohol he's drunk, sniffed, swallowed, and whatever over the years. But he's a kind and loyal friend--someone we can't help but like. The characters are very interesting and well worth watching. I found this non-fictional documentary more interesting to watch than many fictional films I've sat through. CHRIS SMITH has captured his subject with affection, respect, and honesty. He has been able to get so close and intimate that it seems as if no one is even aware that there's a documentary being made. This is a really insightful look at the American Dream as it's experienced at the grassroots level. I think this is going to become a documentary classic and that the two main characters, Mark and Mike are going to become cult and cultural icons.
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