COMIC-CON is an enjoyable and amusing film about the many thousands of people that descend upon the San Diego Convention Centre every year. Although it’s amiably diverting, it also represents the less impactful aspects of Morgan Spurlock’s filmmaking – it’s an easy, humorous watch with little to no insight.
Spurlock, an entirely off-screen presence, illustrates the macro-culture of the convention by following certain individuals and groups in the run-up to Comic-Con and at the event itself. Cosplayers, aspiring comic book artists and enthusiastic fans and collectors are all displayed with an affection that is admirable for its lack of exploitative humour. That said, with Joss Whedon on board as an executive producer, this was never likely to happen. Interspersed with these ‘characters’ are a series of monologues by various celebrities and Comic-Con veterans, such as Kevin Smith and Whedon himself, explaining their views and experiences of the convention.
The end result is a documentary which, whilst amiable and amusing, suffers from a chronic lack of insight.
The communication of two chief points seems to be the goal. The first being Comic-Con is one of the few places where fans of material that seems to inspire an enthusiastic following of geeks can gather and wax lyrical about their favourite pastimes. The second is that as popular culture as a general movement moves in on Comic-Con as a testing ground for new movies and video games, the traditional comic element is getting squeezed out.
We know all of that. If you don’t, you’re unlikely to be watching the film.
The end result is a documentary which, whilst amiable and amusing, suffers from a chronic lack of insight. Admittedly, you could interpret this as a very targeted understanding of the audience (it has only screened so far at festivals), but then what was the point of it all?
Much reference is made to the fact that fans of comics and sci-fi are voracious collectors and acquirers. There are also snippets of debate over whether this is a form of immaturity or simply a courageous effort to remember some of childhood’s purer joys. However, no attempt is made to get under the skin of these claims and understand what it is about this material, these particular media franchises and characters that inspires such devotion. It leaves Spurlock’s film preaching to the choir.
In the examination of fan reaction and attempting to understand the devotion, the sparsely released THE PEOPLE VS GEORGE LUCAS is far ahead in that regard.
In terms of understanding comics and their fandom, Max Landis’ funny but reverent YouTube analyses do more than COMIC-CON to discuss the medium of comics and the impact it can have. In the examination of fan reaction and attempting to understand the devotion, the sparsely released THE PEOPLE VS GEORGE LUCAS is far ahead. Spurlock’s film ends up feeling like a less journalistic hybrid of the two. This is, of course, slightly disingenuous as Spurlock is now an experienced and competent film maker, but the material here is misjudged for a feature documentary.
COMIC-CON does not have the hands-on impact of SUPER SIZE ME, not the inventive irony of THE GREATEST MOVIE EVER SOLD. Despite the presence of numerous celebrities, it also suffers from the lack of Spurlock’s own engaging presence. On this occasion though, neither personal involvement nor metahumour can hide the fact that, as a documentary, COMIC-CON is simply not compelling enough.
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Np-Sgz5Ra4g