Air Guitar Nation

Air Guitar Nation 'œmay be operating on a higher plane than your everyday rock doc,' said Liz Clayton in the Toronto Globe and Mail. Director Alexandra Lipsitz has made the most of her subject, taking an incredibly silly premise and creating from it a not entirely silly movie. 'œYes, these people are freaks,' the film seems to say. 'œBut we're going to take them as seriously as rock 'n' roll itself.' That means recognizing the real artistry behind the pastime—the best air guitarists in the world are never boring on stage. They're also quite competitive, said Rob Nelson in The Village Voice. There is a serious ideological rift among America's air guitarists, played out in the rivalry between its two top competitors. C-Diddy is a costumed showman, who wears a red kimono and a Hello Kitty breastplate while he rocks out. A comedian on the side, C-Diddy (his real name is David Jung) threatens Dan 'œBjorn Turoque' Crane's belief that air guitar comes from the soul, not the outfit. Their 'œslick, hilarious, and at times even suspenseful' battle makes for a film that never loses steam over 80 minutes. With material this raucous, Lipsitz doesn't have to do much to make it compelling, said S. James Snyder in The New York Sun. 'œShe just lets the camera roll and revels in the playful contrast of personalities.'

Rating: R

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