I randomly picked up two documentaries, both ended up being winners.
First one was
American Movie, came out in 1997. It followed the life of one indie 'auteur' in Buttfuck, Wisconsin who is attempting to raise funds for his full-length feature by shooting a short (called
Coven) with the help of his backwoods friends & family, including his best friend Mike. Mike is my favorite, a metal-loving former alcoholic who's acid-soaked brain is so fried that it's a miracle he knows as many words as he does.
"It's a new product from Coca-Cola. It's called Surge."
Fuck yes. Mike is awesome, even though he's just a yes-man there's just something about him.
After the first 15 minutes of watching this I had to pause it and look up whether or not it was a mockumentary. It's what
Best in Show,
Waiting for Guffman, etc tries to be yet it's so grassroots and natural it proves the old adage, "You can't write this stuff up." What I enjoyed most is the main character's passion. Sure, he's some 30+ year old living in his parent's basement, working as newspaper delivery boy by day, but he's clearly into cinematography as evidenced by the moments were he waxes eloquently on the existentialist imagery in
Seventh Seal. His equipment may be second-rate, but you can tell he wants to make his little horror film more than anything in the world.