When I found out there was a low-rated documentary on Backyard Wrestling on Netflix, my original plan was to save it for the column’s one-year anniversary as a callback to the very first installment, which was based on me stumbling across a backyard wrestling “event” available for streaming during a slow day at the comic shop. Unfortunately for my sense of ceremony, this was the last weekend it was up for Watch Instantly, and with no physical disc on hand, I had to move it up the schedule.
And it was awesome.
Believe it or not, The Backyard is one of the few one-star selections that actually doesn’t deserve its rating. It’s a little heavy-handed at times, but it presents its subject in a mostly impartial way, and while it’s as low budget as you’d expect an amateur documentary to be, it’s pretty interesting and frequently hilarious. I can only assume that the ratings are coming from people reacting to the subjects rather than the film itself, and on one level, I can understand why they’d hit they’d be so quick to hit the single star.
Because this movie is chock full o’ morons.
The Worst of Netflix on Heavy.com: Where superstars become immortal… and where immortals become legends.
Oh man, right when you got to the guys fighting at the baseball diamond I remembered I actually saw this movie. You’re right, this doesn’t deserve the rating it got, as it was a surprisingly well done movie.
“The Backyard” is also the name of a song by Guster that gets way more than one star!
I may be the only one who cares, but I was compelled to share.
I remember watching this film when it toured the Film Festival circuit. I liked it and it got very good review/buzz at the time.
I suspect that the problem is that NetFlix viewers are rating the lives of the people in the film rather than the film itself. Confusing the beliefs/opinions of the characters with that of the filmmaker.
Chris, do you think you would have eventually found/seen this movie if it wasnt rated 1 star? Because if not, I guess we should be thankful other netflickers rated it harshly.
See? THIS is why I continue to ONLY give a damn about WOMEN’S wrestling.
A sign of your growing sinister influence, Sims: you totally sold me on this flick (I love documentaries about insane Americans anyway) and I went to put it in my queue — and it’s now a three-star movie (okay, actually two-and-a-half; apparently NF rounds up) .