Balloon doc isn't completely full of hot air

Ever since Scrabble and New York Times crossword puzzles got their big-screen debuts, copycats have been clamoring to ride the geek-chic train for as far as it will chug. The process is pretty elementary: Find a subset that marches to its own drum beat and pry into a handful of quirky standouts’ day-to-day to reveal how each found their own private Xanadu. In Twisted, a genre all its own is born called “Balloonamentary.” It’s a film about (what else?) balloons. But it also looks at the masters, both young and old, that shape the kids’ toy into wondrous works of art. Anchored by the aphorism “Once you can make a balloon dog, you can make anything,” the film spindles several characters that, for distinct reasons, get tied into the trade—forming a society where the strange and unusual are prerequisites for entry. Though a noble effort here to showcase a world reveling in latex, there’s not enough helium to lift this doc’s run much farther from takeoff.

A generous swath of the balloon world is taken, introducing a peculiar clan boasting their own laws, gods and intricacies. An annual convention known as Twist and Shout is going on, and for a couple of days, balloonatics from several continents can wile out on their tricks and trade. The oven mitts come off for kill-or-be-killed housewives, and a new breed of nerd comes out to join the party. From this pilgrimage, the filmmakers scout for storylines they believe will entice curiosity. An ex-con discovers balloon freedom, a trailer-park teen with PhD dreams twists her way out of sure poverty, a hard-up African-American clown changes young minds with his skills, a proselytizing balloon artist and a sinful counterpart go head-to-head with one raising a blown-up crucifix while the other shakes a sculpted balloon dildo. Every chapter seems to be hitched to this quick intro to the character and then quickly wrapped-up at the end. There’s trouble in juggling everybody, as there is not an actual intersection that takes place outside of the coincidence that they’re all present at the same event.

The picture opens with a cropped 8-millimeter box doing man-on-the-street interviews getting normal Joes to try to blow a balloon of their own. And then it’s off to the convention where balloon making is taken to the extreme. A montage with the film’s recurring violin-plucked ditty plays behind a massive horse, Captain Hook, balloons assembled while blindfolded, balloon easy chairs, balloon archery and speed balloon whizzes. There’s bragging rights for an entire year and street cred to be won.

The directors put their best foot forward to engage a slew of balloon fanatics. A standout in the bunch was a fella named John who is a Kenny Rogers look alike and has a penchant for the Holy Ghost. He gets teary eyed when he talks about circumcising Jesus with the nozzle tied ever so delicately. He’s so serious, that when you watch him give one of his sermons with balloons props you just succumb to the realization that there must not be too many niches left that haven’t been conquered. Here is a self-taught man whose mission is to save us with balloons. Ironically, his surname is Holmes. So John Holmes (not the well-endowed, deceased porn star) makes many videos sermonizing with balloons and hopes to match the output of the XXX actor with the same name. The film plays off this with the adult balloon troublemakers who preach less about god and more about sculpting the perfect set of boobs or showing-off their sinful tricks. One fellow preacher suggests that the decision to choose gospel versus erotica is like choosing smoking or nonsmoking at a motel. He asks, “Where do you want to spend eternity?”

Then there’s the issue of race and the simple fact that only a few minorities are in this game. James is a clown who goes by the moniker Mr. Me. Originally from the outskirts of Atlanta, Mr. Me is a sort of walking modern Matisse who takes his balloons with him like paint brushes. Once back in his low-income dwelling, he emphasizes how tenacity can buck any naysayer. He adds, “You can make as good of money in a day as the dope dealer makes in a day and you can go home and sleep at night.” All this while flashing his handmade bling in the form of a blown-up diamond ring. There’s a beautiful moment where the clown makes a balloon in a deserted field where his childhood home once stood.

Another moment worthy of mention is when the camera crew meets with Marvin Hardy, who is considered the godfather in the balloon-twisting underworld. He brings credibility to the art and dishes deep captions, adding that balloons “become whatever the mind can see.”

The pacing of the film is jumbled and eccentric. You meet characters (some of whom underwhelm), but then they’re phased out afterward. Some of the subjects who have the potential to keep you engaged are glanced over and probably should have bumped the rest. If the filmmakers were to make a straighter stalk instead of batching jambalaya there might have been chance for brilliance. But they had to stuff it all in the pot. A balloon proposal and follow-up wedding, a balloon eulogy after a loved one dies, a graduation and a world record notched for giant 100-foot tall soccer player installations all give the sect legitimacy.

Technically, the crew’s where they need to be. The shots are somewhat blah but they don’t miss much. And given the box-within-the-box premise, that’s saying something. There’s a balloon twister in all of us just waiting to blow up and shape into something. The balloon crowd has their stories—sob and sweet. When in the company of each other, they are rulers of destiny where they can go to what’s called a “jam room” and spend days with the creative door ajar 24/7. In the balloon world some of these artists are legends in their own right, signing autographs and getting swarmed by groupies. When it’s all over, the superhero stature strings back to home base, where each awaits flight for another day and drifts back to earth’s daily routine.

Distributor: RingTheJing Entertainment
Directors/Producers: Sara Taksler and Naomi Greenfield
Genre: Documentary
Rating: Unrated
Running Time: 79 min.
Release date: June 20 NY, June 26 Ann Arbor, July 6 Iowa City, July 12 Portland