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Thank goodness for the library "Ringers" is disjointed and slow-moving. The overall quality is reminiscent of an unimpressive "special feature" on a movie DVD.
3 big problems My 3 biggest problems with this movie:
1. Unlike "Trekkies", it shatters any sense of objective journalism that would actually make it interesting. The filmmakers are obviously "Ringers" themselves and made a cheap film to heap praise on the choices they've made in their lives.
The guy doing the street interviews never pressed his subjects about questions normal people might want to know, such as: "How did you have 6 weeks free of any obligation to stand in line for Star Wars?" "Why are you dressed like a pirate / Klingon at a Lord of the Rings event?" "What in your personal life compells you to write sexual fantasy for fictional characters?"
Instead, he just smiles and nods along with their often absurd responses to his softball questions. That's not to say they shouldn't have these hobbies, but there was no "every man" Han Solo character in this absurd movie. Unlike "Trekkies", his questions never pressed these people to consider or reveal their life choices, which is what makes these people so compelling in the first place. It didn't follow any individuals through any sort of a character arc or revelation, getting only snippets of potentially interesting characters who would disappear from the movie the minute they exited the little video confessional booth. I wanted to know more!!!
2. The production value was just all over the map. The silly time-capsule dorm room transition scenes would have made Tolkien throw up, and were lingered on for far too long. The Mexican-style song about the product tie-ins was just flat-out weird, annoying, and out of context. The Monty Python-style animation reaked of low budget rather than quirky characterization.
3. The filmmakers had nowhere near the access necessary to accomplish what they tried to from a historical perspective. This is evidenced by the lack of access to anyone in the family (I'm assuming the "Chris Tolkien" over-the-shoulder hand shots weren't actually Chris' hands), reuse of the same cut-out photo of J.R.R., dated stock interview footage from LOTR movie publicity events, and the inability to show even one clip or original song from the Rankin and Bass movies.
What they revealed historically was something any casual fan would have picked up years ago, or gotten from a far better PBS historical documentary on Tolkien already made. What they revealed about the fans was frustratingly limited and gushing with admiration only fellow insiders who "get it" could offer.
On top of all that, the title "Ringers: Lord of the Fans" doesn't even make grammatical sense, seeing as "Lord" is singular and "Ringers" are a collective group.
ALLLLLLLL that said, the subject matter was interesting enough to keep the attention of a more casual LOTR fan such as myself.
amazingly well done i enjoyed this movie very much. it has TONS of interesting LOTRs information. its also very well done. the movie visits fun LOTRs places, a town in the USA named Hobbiton, California, and LOTRs conventions. great cast interviews make this a must have for all "ringers".Fun and frolic for ALL ages You don't have to be a 'serious' Ringer to enjoy the informative vignettes and silly costumes in this love letter from one particularly techologically proficient batch of Ringers to the rest of us.
Younger members of the Family Barbecue Brigade found this a great respite between sappy tweener movies. "Cool!" "Did you know that?" "No, did you?" "Check out that COSTUME!" "Wait, chapter it back, I didn't hear that, shut up!" were heard flowing from the basement consistently--and not a single fight!
Personally, I'd have like a bit more--maybe another 5 minutes, with a couple more interviews--on how Tolkien reacted to his unwashed hippies and their take on his work, but that's really about the only flaw in a wonderful fan to fan love letter. Fandom in all its glory Okay, they've finally done it! On top of the documentaries about Elvis fans, Trek fans, and even Mozart fans, showcasing some of the kookier aspects of those fandoms, "Ringers" is an exploration of Tolkien fandom as a whole, with the good sides and silly sides, and manages to do so without the usual tongue-in-cheek ridicule of "come see the freak show, folks!" Having been part of all of these fandoms (minus Elvis), I have to admit that there ARE some screwballs, and that just goes with the territory. I found the history of American Tolkien fandom interesting because I discovered Tolkien in the early 70's, myself, and have never cared for the association many people of my generation have with hippiedom, pot-smoking, rock music and other such counter-culture garbage that in reality has nothing whatsoever to with Tolkien - except in the minds of such people. Likewise, in more recent times it has become the turf of New Agers who see magic and mysticism in Tolkien that was never there any more than pot-smoking hobbits or genial hippies in the Old Forest. But perhaps this is because in the end Tolkien is such a terribly personal experience. To people of the 60's, perhaps they truly did see Tolkien as a counter-cultuer tour de force. Perhaps today's New Agers truly do see Wiccan mysticism in Hobbitry and Elfdom. Environmentalists see Treebeard as the ultimate spokesman for protecting the forests (and perhaps they are right). And likewise, I see it as a superb conveyer of the Christian message, whether it was intentionally so or not.
All that being said, "Ringers" shows the history of the fandom in all its splendor, and shows some of the truly clever costuming created by the fans. The one thing that stands out is a love for Tolkien, however his great writings are perceived. This is an excellent documentary, and one of the best, most comprehensive of its kind. I recommend it most highly.
