Movie Breakdown: Boys State (Noah)
Pre-Screening Stance:
Boys State was a big pick-up by A24. A documentary about, well, Boys State, a yearly Foreign Legion sponsored government camp where teenage dudes become teenage dudes who know stuff about government. It’s a documentary in 2020 so it’ll be entertaining and feature adversity but in the end the adversity will be overcome and goodness (and sadness) will be had.
Post-Screening Ramble:
This might be an overarching blanket statement but, I’m a little bored of documentaries. I know, I know “How can you be bored of all documentaries, Noah? There’s so many subjects and so many ways to look at the many different stories that make us humans.” Oh, I get it, and every time I pull up some new documentary I’m ready for new information, new real people and new real people stories and though most, Boys State included, do focus on fascinating things, they all do it in the same point-a to point-b manner. A character (or characters) is followed, we learn about their history (briefly), we learn about why they’ve been chosen to lead the documentary, there are a handful of trials and tribulations, they achieve glory (good or bad), there’s an extended denouement and then boom, a tear-yanking ending. Boys State is no different. Every year in Austin, Texas a bunch of government loving, mostly conservative, adolescent males gather to not only learn about government but to actively create their own – fake – government. Elections are held, votes are taken, all the horrifying bullshit of politicians pops up in kids who should be thinking about teevee reruns and Tang, not glad-handing potential constituents and backstabbing their political rivals. There are, of course, a handful of the kids who are more interesting than others – blue collar Mexican immigrant and secret progressive Steven, and Ben, a grinning sixteen year old Reaganite who slithers his way through camp like a future Roger Stone (and who’s story Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss focus on to lead us through this hectic collision of hormones and political aspiration). Boys State is a solid package – good characters, good storytelling, a tear-jerking ending – and though it shines a light on a sub-section of America I knew nothing about, I don’t know if it does anything I haven’t seen before.
One Last Thought:
Honestly, I don’t have one. Writing about the state of documentaries for twenty minutes has me combing through my mind for an original documentary that truly blew my mind lately and I’m coming up with nothing.
