Feature film in the dry-humorous style of an educational documentary. The camera records the actions of the protagonists, warts and all, as they take part in a game of role-playing more than really act. The film follows the less than spectacular vicissitudes of the rather soft young man Randy Scott. Randy has few skills and ambitions and rolls from one boring job into another. Randy’s experiences (a big word for his activities) are obviously a put-up job, but as the film is made at modest locations in America’s Mid-West and the amateur actors largely play themselves, a strange kind of ambiguity results in which documentary and fiction change places. The monotonous life of Randy is literally made tangible: the film is boring in a refined way, no fast cutting, no musical accompaniment, no attractive actors. But appearances can be deceptive. The style of the film can be compared with that of poker-faced Buster Keaton; sooner or later you can’t help laughing. Beyond the boredom is the improbability and absurdity of people’s lives on the bottom rungs of the social ladder. Chris Smith takes a look at an existence so trite that it was never noticed before. (GjZ)
