Gigantic (A Tale of Two Johns) (2002)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

AJ Schnack

Genre:

Documentary | Music

Plot:

Documentary about the music group They Might Be Giants.

Plot Keywords:

Interview | Band | Music Video | Rock Band | Concert Footage

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

John Flansburgh	...	Himself
John Linnell	...	Himself
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Gina Arnold	...	Herself
Michael Azerrad	...	Himself
Adam Bernstein	...	Himself
David Bither	...	Himself
Frank Black	...	Himself
Linwood Boomer	...	Himself
Brian Cohen	...	Himself
Patrick Dillett	...	Himself (as Pat Dillett)
Sue Drew	...	Herself
Dave Eggers	...	Himself
Jake Fogelnest	...	Himself
Joe Franklin	...	Himself
Janeane Garofalo	...	Herself
Ira Glass	...	Himself
Jonathan Gregg	...	Himself
Dan Hickey	...	Himself (Drums)
Kurt Hoffman	...	Himself
Mark Hoppus	...	Himself
Al Houghton	...	Himself
John Houlihan	...	Himself
William Ingoglia
Mike Kelly	...	Himself
Jamie Lincoln Kitman	...	Himself (as Jamie Kitman)
Josh Kornbluth	...	Himself
Bill Krauss	...	Himself
Robert Krulwich	...	Himself
Michael McKean	...	Himself
Dan Miller	...	Himself (Guitar)
Glenn Morrow	...	Himself
Alex Noyes	...	Himself
Conan O'Brien	...	Himself
Annette O'Toole	...	Herself (voice)
Gary Ray	...	Himself
Andy Richter	...	Himself
Raoul Rosenberg	...	Himself
Harry Shearer	...	Himself
Paul Simon	...	Himself
Michael Small	...	Himself
Jim Stabile	...	Himself
Jon Stewart	...	Himself
Syd Straw	...	Herself
They Might Be Giants	...	Themselves
Sarah Vowell	...	Herself
Danny Weinkauf	...	Himself (Bass)

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Company:

Bonfire Films of America

Trivia:

Annette O'Toole narrates a letter in the film during one of the film's "history" sequences, and did the research herself. She had been out of town filming "Smallville" (2001) when the director came to film her husband, Michael McKean.

Quotes:

John Linnell: [about "Flood"] A lot of albums these days have ten or less songs on them, and that pisses us off. This new album of ours has nineteen songs. That's why ours is better.

Movie Connections:

Spoofs "The Civil War" (1990)

Soundtrack:

Cowtown

Fluff, perhaps, but fun fluff

At one point, commentator Syd Straw asks the filmmakers if their film is a fluff piece, and it kind of is--as a documentary, `Gigantic' isn't particularly well made, and its mock-important moments (dull dramatic readings of TMBG lyrics by celebrity fans, a segment of random trivia about song subject James K. Polk) tend to hold up the show rather than help it along. There's never a hint of darkness or controversy, little insight into Linnell and Flansburgh's creative processes, and even less info about their personal lives. But for the most part, fluff doesn't get much more fun than this. For all its fanboy intentions, Gigantic never presents its subjects as true giants, but rather as the little band that could, and did. Far from seeming smug or precious or self-conscious, the Johns come off as modest, self-effacing, surprisingly earnest regular guys; their personalities are likely to charm the uninitiated, and turn on new generations of fans to their brilliantly off-center musical world. And diehards will be more than happy with the affectionate tone and high-energy concert footage. Recommended. 8 out of 10.