A couple years ago, through a random suggested follow on Twitter, I met a guy named Don Lewis. His handle was @PetalumaFilms, and I love Petaluma, so I followed his account. Somewhere over time we conversed via Twitter and eventually, I got suckered into helping him make a movie. You know how Twitter is. Actually, I think I might have offered or begged to help, one of those (begged), and the project I signed up for was Worst in Show.
The documentary, about the World's Ugliest Dog competition, premiered this week at the 13th San Francisco Independent Film Festival and it was my first chance to see the finished movie. My work was done on the day of the event last June, so I had only little hints from Don here and there as to what they had and how it was coming together (they did extensive interviews, follow-ups, and research into past events etc.). I've worked on a number of films, some of them quite large like The Matrix sequels, and more often than not, I am left disappointed by the outcome, clutching my paychecks in comfort. Thankfully, for our friendship and my sanity, and the fact this time there was no paycheck to clutch, Worst in Show came out of the editing bay awesome.
I mean it. You can say I'm biased, you can call me a schill for my buddies, but after spending the day before the screening watching a number of similarily budgeted docs on Netflix centering on equally obscure and quirky subjects, in comparision, Worst In Show is prime rib to their Wendy's junior bacon cheeseburger. I like the Jr. Bacon and all, but you know... prime rib.
The movie follows a number of contestants as they prepare for the 2010 competition, which was held, as always, at the Sonoma Marin fair in Petaluma, CA. There are other comps, but this is the big one, the Super Bowl if you will. Get it?! Bowl, like a dog bowl... like a, I'll stop now. The point is, the Petaluma version is the one that gets the attention, and as you'll see in the film, that attention crosses oceans with reporters from England and Japan attending the contest.
Among the suspects is Dane Andrews and his self proclaimed "World's Ugliest Dog" Rascal. I was given the heads up on Dane the day of the shoot and boy does he deliver in person as well as in the movie. A true character, a blend of Hollywood's D-List with an eye for self marketing and what I can only describe as "confidence." He has gotten himself and Rascal into movies, TV shows, countless publications and has a patented hot dog leash that apparently you can buy. The only problem with the leash is it's only as strong as its weakest link! Ha! Get it! Yeah, my wife didn't like that one in the car on the way home either.
Dane is described by the owner of Icky, Jon (both seen to the left), as the "Tiger Woods" of ugly dog competitions, an assceratation that is diplomatic to say the least. Jon and Icky are relatively new to the circuit, but with a personality like his, you instantly wanna hang out with the guy. His interaction with some Mormon missionaries in the first reel is hilarious and I can't wait to find out the story on how and why those missionaries stuck around in the back while Jon gave an interview!! Also, Icky is adorable, which is an unexpected result of hanging out with these dogs for any period of time, you grow to love them. Sure, you might still have to recognize their physical short comings when pressed, but mostly you just kind of want to hold them. The dogs, not the owners.
Quotable moments don't belong to Jon alone! One of my favorites is when Miles, owner of 2009 champ Pabst, says about Dane calling him all the time, "I saved his number just so I could not answer." The theater was rolling in laughter. Dane is definitely the villain of the piece, but don't feel too bad for him, he's earned the role. I wouldn't say he, nor anyone else comes across poorly however. They are just real people and like my wife said, this is the kind of reality that reality TV should be, not the fake scripted crap you see everywhere now.
Someone who probably would've come off poorly was the event's sponsor, who I will not name because she doesn't deserve the allusion of press that this blog offers. A smart decision to leave her antics out of this movie, but I was there and she was an insane trophy wife with a low rent dog bag business who tried to stop us from filming at every possible turn. She also is the reason why you won't see more than a couple flashes of the "celebrity" judges from the competition. She told them they shouldn't talk to us unless they got paid. No offense lady, but the singer of a one sort-of hit wonder and the girl who got fired form That 70s Show for showing up drunk all the time could do with a little indie doc exposure... en gratis. Actually, as part of the show Amazing Wedding Cakes, I was probably the biggest celebrity there.
There is also Rascal meeting Jane Russell. Thank you Worst In Show for making me aware that Jane Russell was still alive.... and likes to steal the personal effects of old timey Hollywood stars and put them on display at the Metreon?
There are a lot of funny moments in the film, and the audience at my screening was very receptive to the movie and the absurdity of the subject matter. But what is kind of miraculous about the movie is one of those moments that only real life and a little luck can give a filmmaker. See, through all the elevated airs of the contest as it grows in stature, through its registered trademark, through its wannabe "Real Housewife of" sponsor and her obsession with celebrity and the brand of the contest, through all the press and noteriety, there was the winner, Kathleen, and her cute little rescue dog, Princess Abby. A woman who's life was literally changed by winning. She wasn't the veteran out to rack up trophies, or the defending champ, she was just a woman down on her luck who fell in love with a dog and on a whim, and the promise of a free vet check up, went to Petaluma and came home with a new lease on life.
She got to go to New York (which is apprently a really big deal in her hometown of Clearlake!), volunteers (fans of Abby) fixed her house so it wouldn't condemned, she got a proclamation from the city, she got everything a mid level county fair competition can give a person and more. Without spoiling anything, there was a lot of heartbreak in Kathleen's life leading up to that contest and the taste of acceptance, the smell of validation and appreciation that it gave her, was immeasurable.
I'm an animal parent as well, and I truly do believe your pets find you more than you find them. My cat Pixie found me. She spent seven months in a cage at the vets waiting for me and when I came in through the door she recognized me. As I dealt with the passing of our beloved cat Zoe, Pixie was there and knew how to help me heal, just as Princess Abby did for Kathleen. It's a powerful thing to have a truly loved pet in your life and that is the miracle of this little documentary, that through the quirky construct of the World's Ugliest Dog, it portrays the importance of animals in our lives in a way unlike any other movie I've seen.
Don't worry though, Worst in Show doesn't turn into some heavy cry-a-thon at the end, but it is a touching story and you kind of want to give Kathleen a hug by the credits. What could've been just a tale about the growing world of ugly dogs, instead turned around and smacked you for assuming it was about anything other than simple humanity. It's a funny world, amusing on the outside, but on the inside it is all heart. I think Worst in Show portrays that wonderfully. It's also really funny!
Just starting to make festival rounds, keep an eye out for this film, I think virtually anyone will enjoy it.
Oh, and remember those big Hollywood films I mentioned I worked on? Yeah, none of them gave me an IMDB credit, Worst In Show gave me my first. Thanks guys!
Screened: Roxie Theater, SF Indie Fest 2010
Director(s): John T. Beck & Don R. Lewis
Cast: Icky, Rascal, Princess Abby, Pabst, and Jane Russell
Additional Cinematography: Mic Hawk
Fav. Quote: "I've got to get back to layaway"
Grade: A
Thank you for all you've done GREAT WRITE UP
Posted by: Weloveicky | 10 February 2011 at 01:45 PM
I truly LOVED this movie. It made me laugh and it brought a tear to my eye. It is everything that Mic has said and more.
Posted by: reva the baking diva | 10 February 2011 at 09:57 PM