ME AT THE ZOO - QUEERGURU

Asides from the endless slew of instant celebrities that Reality TV tries to force upon us, there is now an onslaught from the Internet when videos go viral. This movie is about one such star, and trust me I use the word ‘star’ very reluctantly. Chris Crocker was/is an outrageously gay teenager living in the backwoods of Tennessee where his flamboyant behavior meant that he had to skip going to High School to avoid an inevitable outpouring of violence against him. Abandoned by his mother (who gave birth to him at 14) he was raised by his paternal grandmother who, whilst never understanding her highly strung grandson’s many odd penchants like wearing girls clothes, indulged him nevertheless particularly in his fixation with Brittany Spears.

It was this obsession that made Chris infamous. He had been making videos of himself either dancing in his bedroom or simply screaming at the camera on any lightweight topic that was on his somewhat twisted mind ever since he got his first computer. Initially his postings on YouTube got very few hits, but over time he built up a small coterie of fans who loved to either worship him. or mock him with their imitations. At the same time he attracted a great deal of vicious hate mail too. And then it all changed when Ms Spears was evidently pilloried in the media for an excruciatingly piss-poor performance on TV when it seemed obvious that they had released her from Rehab way too early. Chris’s high pitched rant ‘Leave Brittany Alone!’ went ‘viral’ and soon had over 40 million hits and as a result the media turned their attention on Chris himself.

This documentary follows Mr Crocker’s attempts to parlay all this attention into something more and he did actually get close to having his own TV show in LA when his unfettered big mouth went just too far and he ended back in Tennessee living with his Saint of a Grandmother, whilst his mother back on meths was living rough on the streets.

I must confess that I went into the movie knowing none of the backstory or even having heard of Chris Crocker, and normally I would have run a mile from anything remotely like tabloid trash. However I must admit though although he did annoy me (more than once) I found the movie totally fascinating. The fact that we are living in a culture where someone can make so much out of essentially very little real talent intrigues me. And knowing for a fact that in the end they will just fizzle out and need something else to do when their five minutes under the spotlight is over appeals to my inquisitive nature (nosey even). In this particular case it would appear that Mr Crocker is now enjoying a new career in ‘acting’ ! The type that requires you to dispense with a costume and just grunt loudly.

This review has been reprinted from my Sundance 2012 Blog as the movie has now been released and is available on HBO On Demand in the USA.

★★★★★★★★