TREKKIES
A Film Review by Brian Takeshita
Rating: ** out of ****
I used to be able to say, "I love Star Trek." Back then, you could say that and everyone would know what you were talking about. These days, with the old series, the movies with the old cast, The Next Generation, the movies with the Next Generation cast, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager, I have to really qualify my statement. I love the old series and the movies with the old cast. I like the Next Generation and their movies. I have almost no feeling toward Deep Space Nine and Voyager. To see the premiere of the new Star Trek film used to be something really special. Today, there's so much Star Trek, a new movie is practically taken with a grain of salt. What, I have to PAY to see this?
Still, there is currently a larger fan base for the entertainment enterprise than ever before, and it's even more diverse due to all the different forms of Star Trek available. They come from all walks of life. They are doctors, students, psychologists, housewives, radio personalities. They are from the upper class and the lower class and everywhere in between. Many may not even speak the same language, but they all have one thing in common: They like the message that Star Trek delivers. If we try hard enough, we will all survive and get along with each other in the future. But just what makes a person devote more than a passing interest to a television show? What kind of a person attends conventions, or dresses up like his or her favorite character when it isn't even Halloween? It's these types of questions Roger Nygard tries to answer in his documentary, TREKKIES.
After the first five minutes or so, I thought I was going to be sick. The film immediately begins documenting the extreme in Star Trek fandom; the ones that take the show way too seriously. The freaks. Sounds of laughter erupt from different pockets of the theater, and it seems this film is taking cheap shots and making people laugh at the expense of others. I felt embarrassed. Unfortunately, this trend lasts a while until we spend more time with each of a number of fans and their lives get a little more personal to us.
The documentary shows us a pretty wide range of people who are associated with Star Trek, but the most time is spent with those who have seemingly gone off the deep end. After all, the normal people are boring, right? A few people we meet are a dentist whose practice is one big Star Trek fantasy (his office is adorned with all kinds of memorabilia and he and his assistants are dressed daily in costume), a man who wears his costume to the supermarket and would get his ears cut to points like Mr. Spock's if he could afford it, and young man who is making his own Star Trek movie.
TREKKIES is narrated by Denise Crosby, who played Lieutenant Tasha Yar for the first year and a half of the series, Star Trek: The Next Generation. Crosby also serves as the interviewer in many of the film's sequences, and it's nice that she seems to be going on the same journey we are. It's as though she is facing these people with the same unjaded incredulity, and head-shaking amazement as the audience, even though we know she must have faced some of this before. However, if it's an act, it's a good one.
Whereas we'd like to end up feeling a connection with the fans in TREKKIES, the film doesn't go into sufficient depth so that we understand why they do the things they do. Is it insecurity? The need to feel like they "belong" to something? Or is Star Trek just something they think is really, really cool? By staying on the surface, we unfortunately never get far past the feeling of amusement or even pity. Take, for example, a woman who belongs to a Star Trek fan club in which they assign ranks to members. She insists that her co-workers at Sir Speedy print shop refer to her as "The Commander," and although she may not wear her uniform every day, the communicator, phaser, and rank insignia are usually found as accessories to her apparel. We might admire the fact that she is so devoted to her passion and her club, but she likens the wearing of the uniform to being part of a military organization. The thing is, it's not like that at all. Her uniform is part of a television show and isn't meant to be worn in public, save for the novelty. By the way, this woman was actually on the O.J. Simpson trial jury, and yes, she wore the uniform to court every day.
Another woman we meet is obsessed with Brent Spiner, who plays the android Lieutenant Commander Data on The Next Generation. She calls herself a "Spinerfem" and keeps her album of Brent Spiner photos in a fireproof safe in her closet. Since she lives relatively close to his home, she goes out on her balcony and gazes toward it to cheer her up when she feels depressed. One fan talks about the informal backyard gatherings he annually attends in the unofficial birthplace of James T. Kirk, Riverside, Iowa. He informs us that the previous year was great. They had a few more people, and even "had a girl come." This is not a film with a lot of sympathy toward its subjects.
One of the better elements of TREKKIES is its interviews with the cast members, who share some truly interesting and touching anecdotes involving their experiences with fans. For example, James Doohan, who played Scotty in the original series, literally saved a fan's life by keeping in contact with the suicidal girl and telling her he wanted to see her at the next convention. However, a movie that is essentially about the fans cannot be built upon pieces such as this, and must revolve around the fans themselves. It's a pity that Nygard's documentary only gives us unfeeling looks at the extremes, as the gems involving the actors contrast greatly to the bleak picture painted for us by the fans about which they are supposed to be talking.
If this film had delved deeper into the "normal" folks who enjoy Star Trek without having it run their lives, it would have provided a much needed balance. Would this have been less interesting than seeing fans who live and breathe Star Trek? On the contrary, I believe it would have helped answer the original questions of who these people are and why they like Star Trek. We would have found that they aren't just the people you'd cross the street to avoid, but are also you and me. Instead, we only learn that there are some pretty strange people in the world.
Review posted May 25, 1999
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