No One Speaks The Same Language: Troll 2 & Best Worst Movie

There might not be a better documented instance of this month's theme than Troll 2. On it's face, this film is completely asinine (like the complete lack of trolls or any connection to original Troll movie, or the relentless and unexplained jabs at vegetarians), but the documentary Best Worst Movie reveals how some of those asininities ended up committed to film. And much of the how lies in the language barriers.

The language barriers: The director and crew on Troll 2 only spoke almost exclusively Italian, but in the small town in Utah where they came to film, almost no one spoke Italian. But the filmmakers decided to pluck some of the town folk out of obscurity and cast them in most of the main roles away, so a cast comprised almost completely of non-actors, with no film experience, were being directed by a crew who couldn't (and from the sounds of some accounts, couldn't be bothered to) communicate with them.

The result of those language barriers: The cast had no pretense about their performances, characters, or even what was going on around them, so what they committed to film ended up being some of the most genuine performances in a category that is usually dominated by ham-fisted and contrived performances.

Do you have to watch Troll 2 to appreciate this circus?: You can totally watch Best Worst Movie without seeing Troll 2, but I saw the documentary first and then couldn't stop myself from watching the film. And I'm pretty convinced that's the order to do it in if you can!