Dungeons & Dragons turned 40 years old in January of this year (2014). In recognition, we are rebranding our site for one week to Now Very Beholder… and focusing just on the films that star or in some way revolve around D&D.
140 Character Movie Review – #140RVW
2013 indie may hit a little close to home for gamers, but that’s a sign of how well the filmmakers portray genuine human foibles & passion.
Spoiler-free Movie Review of Zero Charisma:
Of all the human traits, possibly the hardest to portray on-screen is earnestness. Being sincere and passionate about something is nearly guaranteed to invite ridicule, both on screen and in life. It takes a combination of courage, confidence and thick skin to really put yourself out there and go for it. Film portrayals of such people generally show one of two tones, both of which reflect our own preconceived views: this genuineness is corny and trite (with an option on refreshing, depending on the film and the likability of the actor), or this intensity is disturbing and laughable. I have little time for the former and none for the latter.
It may come as a surprise to regular readers to hear that I value earnestness above almost all other traits in film. The ability to overcome the inherent limitations I mentioned mean that when you succeed you often end up with something truly special.
I love snarkiness – I got my Boy Scout badge for snark, I wrote my thesis on snark. But while well-cultivated and practiced sarcasm is indeed an art, it’s often easy. Anyone can sit on the sidelines and take cheap shots – and no one enjoys it more than I – but eschewing the low-hanging fruit and going for satire beyond spoof is much more difficult and requires real skill. The rewards are worth it.
Such is the challenge with Zero Charisma or indeed any movie that handles a subject matter or interest that is frequently treated with derisive mockery. As with any movie about geek culture, you worry that the film is just going to make fun of the characters. When I settle in to one of these my radar is up from the start, looking for trouble – you have to stay frosty.
Zero Charisma doesn’t shy away from the jokes or the obvious stereotypes, but it succeeds in doing so in an inclusive manner that feels more like self-deprecation than insult.
The main character of the story, Scott Weidemeyer (brilliantly played by Sam Eidson – I’m sure we’ll be seeing more of him) certainly checks off all of the predictable boxes: obsessive, overweight, under-sexed, leather wearing, dead-end job having, heavy metal listening, loser living at home while planning masterful campaigns of his own design for a small group of “friends” that he doesn’t respect and barely tolerates. Dungeon Master is an extremely accurate title for reasons that Gygax & Arneson probably couldn’t have anticipated.
On top of that, he’s unbelievably rigid and arrogant in every facet of his life, severely stunting his ability to have success outside of the game. He’s pretty hard to like. But when one of his players quits the game in an effort to keep his marriage from falling apart and Scott finds that the only possible replacement player in town that he hasn’t alienated is a hipster whose presence disrupts the perfectly ordered group Scott has developed, even his game life begins to fall apart.
It’s interesting, but a number of the comments I read online about the film were very much pro-Scott and overwhelmingly negative to Miles, the too-cool-for-school hipster ably played by Garrett Graham. People went off on the “fake geeks” who are now into gaming because it’s cool. Clearly the filmmakers have hit a nerve. These same people acknowledged that Scott maybe took things a bit too far. He didn’t take things a bit too far – he’s over the edge and down the lane.
But I completely understand the impulse to defend the intense Dungeon Master. We’ve all known a Scott. Truth be told, we’ve all probably been him to a greater or lesser degree at some point. Everyone knows what it’s like to care passionately for something that others are indifferent towards. Everyone knows the dreadful feeling when something you’ve always been in control of begins to slip from your grasp. No matter how wonderful your life is, we’ve all had moments when situations have changed for us and our sense of security or peace feels under siege. And that’s surely what is happening here. This isn’t a story solely about one man’s game being turned upside down. His world is being turned upside down, with his job & home life, and so when his one refuge, the one successful part of his existence is under threat from his own attitude as much as from the hipster interloper, it’s too much.
Zero Charisma is really cringe-worthy at times – it shows genuine human emotions in all of their ugliness. But it’s very funny and also enjoyable to watch. Along with Scott’s intensity there is also an accompanying trait of sincerity that endears him to you, for all of his behavior. Matters are helped remarkably by the performance of Eidson, who I hope to see a lot more of. Highly recommended.
Poster:
Trailer:
Bechdel Test:
Pass
The Representation Test Score: C (5 pts)
(http://therepresentationproject.org/grading-hollywood-the-representation-test/)
| Main Cast | Sam Eidson Scott, Brock England Wayne, Garrett Graham Miles, Anne Gee Byrd Wanda |
| Rating | Not Rated |
| Release Date | Fri 11 Oct 2013 UTC |
| Director | Katie Graham, Andrew Matthews |
| Genres | Comedy |
| Plot | An overgrown nerd who serves as Game Master of a fantasy board game finds his role as leader of the misfits put into jeopardy when a new initiate enters the group. |
| Poster |  |
| Runtime | 86 |
| Tagline | |
| Writers | Andrew Matthews (written by) |
| Year | 2013 |
