‘LOOK BACK IN ANGORA’
Narrated by Gary Owens
(1994 - VHS)
When we slightly twisted fans of Ed Wood discuss the merits of his work, we must bear in mind that the very nature of it wreaks havoc on our grading scale. How does one actually assess anything having to do with Ed when "best" is "worst" and "good" is "bad"?
This very funny 50-minute documentary, cleverly written and directed by Ted Newsom and featuring the narration of Gary Owens, is excellent in that it fully achieves its goal. What is that goal? To take an irreverent snapshot of the life and "achievements" of Ed Wood, “Hollywood's Horrible Hack”. And that's good!
See? Now yer catchin' on.
The instantly recognizable voice of Gary Owens with his mock seriousness is a dog 'n' flea collar fit for 'LOOK BACK IN ANGORA.' (The title alone tells you what to expect.) The slapdash style of this documentary mimics the slipshod ineptitude of our hero's best (meaning "worst") work.
Is Owens disrespecting his subject? Well, yeah, of course he is - sort of. (But not in an overtly demeaning manner.) What do you want? A serious documentary about Ed Wood? Serious? About ED WOOD?!!! C'mon, get serious (meaning "loosen up").
We who appreciate Ed for the right reasons admire him because (as Owens says...) "Wood's films have become true cult classics; they triumph over all obstacles, including his own singular lack of ability." Ed Wood refused to quit; he did what he loved doing. Ed followed his dream: a ridiculous nightmare of inadvertent bad filmmaking which was "Stupid! Stupid!" (meaning, "Funny! Funny!") "His stream-of-consciousness dialogue," Owens tells us, "was like a ransom note pasted together from words randomly cut out of a Korean electronics manual." Now that's funny and accurate!
How Much Film Would Ed Wood Chuck If Ed Wood Would Chuck Film? He'd Chuck All The Film That Ed Wood Could If Ed Wood Would Chuck Film.
Fortunately for us, however, Ed Wood would chuck no film - he used it all! And this little biography pastes bits 'n' pieces of it together to give us a hilarious overview.
Sure, I liked Tim Burton's 'Ed Wood' treatment, but a movie by Ed is always going to be "worse" (meaning "superior") to a movie about Ed. So, for me, this goofy collection of clips and brief interviews is the perfect companion tape to my pink, faux angora-covered Ed Wood boxed set.
How's this for an amusing evening? . . . You invite your friends over, serve them hot sake in those authentic little Japanese sake cups, and show them ‘PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE’ and ‘LOOK BACK IN ANGORA’ in that order. You'll be immensely entertained and you'll find out just who your real friends are - because your real friends will love ya for it . . . (or they'll forgive you and love ya anyway).
‘LOOK BACK IN ANGORA': Yeah, it's "pretty bad"
(and that's "very good!")
~ Stephen T. McCarthy
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