AIR GUITAR NATION
Director: Alexandra Lipsitz Documentary
Reviewed by GREG KING
The normally silly adolescent pastime of playing air guitar to your favourite rock riffs has been taken out of the privacy of bedrooms and put onto the world stage as part of an international air guitar competition. But what initially seems like a bad joke is actually taken very seriously by the competitors, who come from all over the world to compete in an annual competition held in Finland. Who would have thought that such a competition would be held in Finland of all places?
Aspiring potential champions strut their stuff and are judged on their technique and an indefinable quality known as “airness”. However, in the first six years of the competition not one American air guitarist stylist has been invited to compete. On learning of this slight in 2003, a couple of air guitar virtuosos set out to earn their chance to represent the US in Finland.
David Jung is a flamboyant showman who goes under the stage name of C Diddy. His parents emigrated to America from the Ukraine in the 1970’s, and hoped that their son would become a doctor or a lawyer. Although initially disappointed by his desire to become an actor, they embrace his triumphs as C Diddy on the world air guitar stage. By contrast, Dan Crane is technically brilliant but stolid, and goes by the stage name of Bjorn Turoque. But he is always the perpetual runner-up to C Diddy’s dynamic stage presence and choice of tunes. These two compete against each other in local competitions to decide the US champion. When Bjorn loses to C Diddy he finances his own way to Finland, anxious to compete and prove himself.
First time director Alexandra Lipsitz, who has previously worked as a supervising producer on Project Runway, follows these two competitors on their journey, and provides an intimate portrait of their lives. She explores their aspirations and their outlook on life, as well as taking us behind the scenes of the whole air guitar phenomenon. What emerges is unexpectedly entertaining and hilarious, despite the seemingly silly nature of the enterprise.
***