For the
sake of not having to write the same intro a million
different ways throughout the rest of time, just know that
this column avoids the overly long and sometimes dull
process of full film reviews and instead opts to break
things down based on what I thought going in, what happened
while I was there and what I learned at the end of it all.
Thanks for reading!
The
Breakdown - The Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls
The Impression:
New Zealand’s finest: lesbian, country singing twins - I’ll
take two please.
The Reality:
The Topp Twins are seemingly New Zealand’s dirty little
entertainment secret. Jools and Linda Topp are, if the
story-telling behind The Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls
is speaking the truth, massively popular, hugely
influential, political-activist-turned-comedic superstars.
And I’ve never heard of them. Never once, and I’m someone
who actively explores the musical sides of different
cultures. Even my Australian friend Adam, who is married to
a Kiwi, only recently discovered this strange duo, and his
wife made him promise to never speak of them again.
The film paints the Topp Twins as a fun-loving pair of
familial cow girls who just loved speaking out against the
government and dressing up funny. And this avalanched in to
a successful career as comedic performers. It’s difficult to
comment on the film because the sheer adoration heaped upon
the ladies seems so out of place to me. Subjectively, the
Topp Twins do nothing for me. Their music falls somewhere
between Joan Baez and The Indigo Girls with a little bit of
Alan Sherman tossed in to the mix. Their comedic routines
are steeped in mildly lewd, yet preciously safe humor and I
battled to find interest in their very tame life story (grew
up on a farm, loved animals, loved ladies, fame). What the
idea of a film about lesbian twin sisters who sang country
western was a sort of Christopher Guest portrayal of the
musicians and through this a sort of good natured peek at
the, honestly, strange place New Zealand is. Director,
Leanne Pooley though drenches her film and its subjects in
near sycophantic worship and there is no information
relayed, that I can remember, that even hints at a darker or
stranger side of the Topp Twins or New Zealand. Through a
series of interviews with the ladies, and a heaping spoonful
of live concert footage, the Topp Twins emerge as a sort of
politically active Rafi, exciting for the elderly and the
young. I like my documentaries, and my performers, flavored
with a little bit more nuance, and this film, only has one
taste.
The Lesson:
New Zealand truly might be the Southern Hemisphere’s Canada.
- Noah Sanders
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