I Am Big Bird: The Caroll Spinney Story
Dir: Dave LaMattina, Chad N. Walker
2015
***
There is no bigger Muppet/Sesame Street fan than myself, so it is fair to say that my expectations were high and that enthusiasm for all things Muppet would help me see past any misgivings the film may bring up. All that I Am Big Bird: The Caroll Spinney Story really needed to do was emulate the brilliant Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey, swapping Kevin Clash's life for Caroll Spinney's, both men being equally interesting. That is essentially what the audience and fans wanted. Instead, Dave LaMattina and Chad N. Walker jump straight into an awkwardly personal account of Spinney's childhood, including abusive father, homophobia (even though he isn't gay) and suicidal thoughts, including one close attempt. Important aspects of Spinney's life but often a little too personal for this style of documentary. At times it is more like being a fly on the wall during a counselling session rather than an interview. The structure of the film doesn't work at all, it's almost like a spoof of a cliche but it clearly isn't meant to be. The sickly depressing soundtrack seems intentional in trying to send out an overpowering and unnecessary instruction to the audience to feel sad, now, even though there isn't anything to feel particularly sad about. There are plenty of interesting things about Spinney but both LaMattina and Walker don't seem to be interested. It is woefully amateur film making. However, there is plenty of unseen archive footage to enjoy, interviews with the original Sesame Street team and plenty of Big Bird to enjoy. I wish just wish they'd stuck to the facts and I wish they'd elaborated on some of the lesser known elements of the man and the character, like the fact that Big Bird was supposed to be on the Space Shuttle Challenger in 1986 for example. The film gets even stranger when it touches on the story of a brutal murder that happened in Spinney's garden which turns into a surreal story of forgiveness and friendship. It's odd and way over-baked. The film ends with a sort of 'Now we wait for Spinney to die' conclusion, which I didn't like. I guess the interviewees got to see the final cut before release, I'm not sure I would have given it my blessing personally but there was enough Sesame Street history for me to enjoy.