Rating: B-
Dir: Michael Perrie Jr.
Star: Terrie Lynne, Christopher Murray, Carly Otte, John Jezior
There is probably a very small set of people who will “get” this film in its entirety. On a Venn diagram, it would be the intersection of people interested in conspiracy theories, and those who have run any kind of convention. But that is a group which includes myself and Chris. We’ve actually attended events like the ConCon in this movie: Conspiracy Con in May 2001. We watched David Icke lecture. Twice. But a few months later, conspiracy theories stopped being fun: people started taking them way too seriously. This is a throwback to that gentler, pre-9/11 era. Siblings Daisy (Lynne) and Eric Sureloc (Murray) are organizing an event for all those little, overlooked theories: “Dogs are from Mars, Costco parking lots, Finland.” [As you may know, Finland doesn’t exist]
Things, however, go pear-shaped after Eric breaks up with his girlfriend and podcast co-host, Gabby Washburn (Otte), following an on-air argument about whether the Earth is flat. The resulting schism threatens to derail proceedings, along with venue issues necessitating a late switch to the event space at the Havre De Grace Decoy Museum. Which is a real thing. But not a great location if you have a phobia of ducks, as someone does. We also follow convention attendee Milton ‘Smith’ (Jezior) – not his real name – who is still searching for the truth, or a convincing facsimile thereof. He says, “I converted to Judaism briefly, because I wanted to get into space lasers,” adding sadly, “But, actually, that one is fake.”
It’s all gentle and affectionate, as mockumentary satire goes. Think Best in Show for conspiracy theorists, with the endlessly upbeat Daisy the spiritual anchor. She’s not going to stop until the convention happens, whether it’s with or without help of Eric. And to be honest, the sibling bickering might be the least interesting element here. The film is on stronger ground with its depiction of the conspiracy mindset. Some people end up letting their beliefs define their entire existence – again, David Icke – and it’s at the extremes where I find the greatest amusement is to be had. But there are scenes here, which had Chris and I turning to each other, jaws agape, in mutual recognition of the characters and situations being depicted.
In its favor, is the reliably deadpan approach. Nobody here is winking at the camera, and that’s appropriate, because conspiracy theories are Serious Business. But its sympathetic and warm approach does leave it relatively toothless. There are conspiracy theories which have led to actual harm in the real world. [I eventually got banned from /r/conspiracy because I kept debunking the “Sandy Hook never happened” crowd. That’s when I quit the community entirely] You wouldn’t know it from what you see here, where it’s all fun and tinfoil hats – literally, as shown top. It is only in Milton where we get an idea of the possible negative impacts, such as his work relationships. That balance may partly be why he was my favourite character. There’s still a good deal to enjoy here: how much, may depend on your location in that Venn diagram.