Gigantic (A Tale of Two Johns) - A movie about They Might Be Giants
by AJ Schnack
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DVD details
Actor: Adam Bernstein, Gina Arnold, John Flansburgh, John Linnell, Michael AzerradDirector: AJ Schnack
Cinematographer: Jon B. Thomas
Editor: Alisa Lipsitt
Editor: Jason Kool
Producer: John McGinnis
Producer: Shirley Moyers
DVD: Region Code 0
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0; English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0
Format: Color, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 102 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2003-11-18
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Plexifilm
DVD Reviews of Gigantic (A Tale of Two Johns) - A movie about They Might Be Giants
DVD Review: They Might Be Trying to Pass This Off as a Documentary
Summary: 2 Stars
Ostensibly, Gigantic: A Tale of Two Johns is a documentary about the legendary rock duo They Might Be Giants. In reality, it looks, sounds, plods along, and altogether feels more like a PBS special about They Might Be Giants. The kind of program you watch on a Sunday evening that simply repeats all of the details that you read regularly and repeatedly in every magazine article about the subject you've ever read.
I expected this documentary to tell the story of the They Might Be Giants. Instead, it is mostly made up of interviewees speaking about their own opinions regarding the band. It starts out fine enough, John Linnell and John Flansburgh appear on camera, trying to remember how they met each other, in grade school probably, and tell a funny story about Linnell being in the hospital as a boy, getting letters written by classmates as a class assignment from other children he had never talked to, Flansburgh included among them. They talk about moving to New York in 1981, trying to figure out how to perform their songs, what some early shows were like, and have plenty to say about Dial-A-Song. And that is just about it as far as the story of They Might Be Giants. The rest of Gigantic mostly features a number of interviewees who talk about the band in broad, general terms, none of them going into much detail except in a few instances. It is wholly disappointing.
Except for the early scenes about their first arriving in New York, there is almost no sense of history to the band. None of their work after the initial live shows is put into context, and there is no meaningful discussion of their cultural impact. In Gigantic, the story of their rise to stardom is essentially boiled down to a lucky break when People reviewed their 1985 demo tape, another lucky break when Adam Bernstein asked to make a video of their song Put Your Hand Inside the Puppet Head, and then the next thing you know MTV, Flood, The Tonight Show, a backing band, they leave Elektra, and then Long Tall Weekend. What is the problem with this narrative?
The context of these achievements and the story behind them. They're missing.
There is only a single passing text mention of Linnell's involvement with the Mundanes. Not a single word is spoken about the Tiny Toon Adventures collaboration. Barely a minute is afforded to Don't Let's Start's popularity on the college rock charts, and nothing is said of Ana Ng and that song's success. Bill Kraus is featured but he says nothing about the process of creating the self-titled debut album or Lincoln. In fact, only Flood and Long Tall Weekend are mentioned at all by name. Flansburgh briefly mentions "our debut album," in some street footage a girl is seen holding the John Henry liner notes, and Flansburgh holds a copy of Mink Car. As far as Gigantic is concerned, Lincoln, Apollo 18, and Factory Showroom don't exist. Have you ever seen a documentary about a band where only two of the band's albums are actually directly mentioned, the rest being ignored or glossed over?
No one mentions the band's frustation with Elektra regarding Apollo 18; the documentary basically attributes their fallout with Elektra to new management and a dispute about a show in Tokyo. No one mentions that John Henry was their best reviewed album, and their highest charting album on the Billboard charts, or the effect of changing labels and production techniques on their music. Flansburgh, who has repeatedly said that Factory Showroom is the album he's most proud of, doesn't say a word about it here.
The movie skirts around the less pleasant issues and hardly touches the everyday lives of the Johns. Any discussion of their songwriting technique or their lives on tour are shallow. There is no mention of Flansburgh's crumbled relationship with his brother. There is no mention of the band's anger over the Factory Showroom demo leak. No mention of the mastering blunder for Apollo 18 in Europe. The Johns slyly imply that commissioned work is the reason they released no albums in the five years between Factory Showroom and Mink Car, any rumors that they feared overexposure by Restless Records's releasing a number of compilation albums notwithstanding.
There is some nice footage. I liked Michael McKean's reading of End of the Tour, and there's some stage show footage that is neat to see. On the whole, I will repeat, it does not feel like a serious documentary so much as it does a TV special. There is a serious lack of depth when it comes to the music of They Might Be Giants, the creation of ablums, life on tour, life outside the band, and what just plain drives them. I wonder how much of that is the director's inexperience, the overall lighthearted tone of Gigantic, or maybe the Johns' predilections for witticisms as opposed to just giving a simple straight answer. Someday, I'd like to see a real documentary about They Might Be Giants
DVD Review: I am a fan and I loved seeing this film, I left a bigger fan.
Summary: 5 Stars
I saw this film in the theater when it was first released. It was so fun to hear more about TMBG. I was not a super duper fan, just a fan, so much of the information was new to me and so CHARMING! We are not charmed enough in this life. I liked the interviews with indie/geek celebrities. The film made me seek out more TMBG, I felt like part of a bigger movement than just a couple silly songs. DVD Review: The tale of 2 mad geniuses
Summary: 4 Stars
If you've ever wondered how this band got together...this is your answer. It follows the 2 Johns through the travels and tribulations of creating one of the more innovative bands to come from New York in the 80's (without a drummer and bass player).
It follows them through the original ideas with vintage photos and videos of the bands early days up to the more recent studio time. It delves into their obsession with coffee and answering machines.
DVD Review: Great Peer Inside
Summary: 4 Stars
It's always great to see the people in a band you herald as demio-gods are actually implicitly quite human. I was so reluctant to knock TMBG off the pedestal I've built that it took a good long while to force myself to sit down and watch this doc.
Boy I'm glad I did! A great insight to the minds of TMBG as well as their fans and various others who contribute to John and John. A must watch even if you don't like watching documentaries.
DVD Review: We get it -- they are nice guys who are good friends!
Summary: 2 Stars
...you know, I got nothing against They Might Be Giants. I like some of their records, and they seem like nice guys who have found a unique niche and have weathered some tough times in a cruel and thankless industry. Their work is rooted in deep friendship and hard work. Very admirable. However, does that make for a good film? Not at all...their story has no genuine drama, no tension, no excitement. It's not that they're a bad band -- this is just a bad subject for a film.
This doc is pretty mediocre in almost every way: construction, execution, etc. Lots of talking heads, though aside from the wonderous Syd Straw, no one really distinguishes themselves as particularly charismatic. In fact, it just seems like they are lined up to kiss TMBG's co-rump. Sarah Vowell is particularly grating, steering the audience through a sea of incredibly obvious observations with a smug sense of self satisfaction, like she was Sir Francis Drake or something. I'm a nerd, and even I felt like giving her a swirly after hearing her talk for 30 seconds. Good thing I don't listen to the radio, because I hear she's on it from time to time.
Another thing that irks me about this picture is how everyone talks about their innovative early live shows and how they used tapes and props, and then the filmmakers' cut to a very conventional, dull contemporary show. Not that the current touring lineup of TMBG is bad...it's just that it's incongruous and shortsells some of the band's most artistically productive achievements.
Also, the device where comedians (Andy Richter, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer, etc) read TMBG lyrics just comes off as smarmy. The small-town quaintness segments (the Polk history lesson, the debate team, etc) are a good idea but inserted jarringly and with the carelessness of a film school freshman.
Another thing that's odd...most of the "we're doing the rock band thing around New York City" footage happens between September 7 and September 10th, 2001. I know, because the filmmakers put dates on it. I'm no prophet of doom, but don't you think it would have been better to leave the dates off? All I could think in my mind was "Our world is about to change irreversabley in 7 hours, but here we are at a TMBG in-store in Manhattan." Scarey. Could have easily been avoided.
That said, there are nice extras on the DVD, particularly the amazing Tonight Show performance (I'd like to see Brandford, Eubanks, and Co. pull that off today!) and Adam Bernstein's great early videos.
Nice guys shouldn't finish last, and they don't always. But that doesn't make the race interesting to watch.
Description of Gigantic (A Tale of Two Johns) - A movie about They Might Be Giants
Gigantic (A Tale of Two Johns) is the celebrated true story of They Might Be Giants, the Brooklyn-based musical duo of John Flansburgh and John Linnell. Embracing the Do-It-Yourself ethos of true independent artists, they have followed a unique and sometimes unconventional path to cult stardom - from their first meeting in grade school to their 2002 Grammy Award - aided by stunning low-budget music videos, trailblazing use of the internet and a telephone answering machine. Gigantic (A Tale of Two Johns) is a chronicle of the band's 20-year history, told through performances, animation, videos and hilarious commentaries from friends and fans.Watching Gigantic (A Tale of Two Johns) is like stepping into a delightful alternate universe where wit and ingenuity are valued over sexual display and bombast. This energetic documentary explores the quirky world of They Might Be Giants, surely one of the most distinctive rock bands of all time. Through interviews with the band's creative duo, John Flansburgh and John Linnell, as well as concert clips, video snippets, and interviews with commentators and musicians like Ira Glass, Sarah Vowell, Frank Black, Conan O'Brien, Jon Stewart, and the gloriously deranged Syd Straw, Gigantic tracks the irresistible rise of They Might Be Giants to the curious cult niche they occupy with panache and aplomb. The movie ably captures the band's off-kilter humor while also appreciating their poetry and musicianship. In addition, there's enough bonus material (full videos, live footage, deleted scenes and interviews) to make any fan's head explode. --Bret Fetzer
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