Upon seeing the first several minutes of "Trekkies," the prominent thought bound to materialize -- faster than a transporter beam -- for anyone with either a casual interest in the "Star Trek" universe -- which includes the original TV show, its spinoffs and theatrical releases -- or complete apathy toward Kirk, Spock, and the rest of the gang, has to be "Get a life!"
Yes, before the freaks of nature came out of the woodwork in the past several years to populate trashy tabloid TV programs like "The Jerry Springer Show," the only place to find such people was at movie and TV show conventions. And there was -- and apparently still is -- no better place for that than the "Star Trek" conventions.
To be fair and kind to those devoted, if occasionally misguided souls, there's no sleeping with in- laws or animals and relatively little in the way of chair throwing at such events. Instead, these conventions are the equivalent of a big sci-fi-based Halloween party with a touch of Mardi Gras thrown in for good measure. This documentary not only details those conventions, but also the interesting and certainly unique characters -- we're talking about real people -- who not only attend them, but also extend such fanaticism into their everyday lives.
As pseudo-hosted by Denise Crosby, who appeared as Lt. Tasha Yar on "Star Trek: The Next Generation," we get to meet an eclectic mix of people. There's Dr. Denis Bourguignon, an Orlando dentist who's completely redone his office and practice with a Trek motif, and Barbara Adams, a woman actually chosen for jury duty in the Arkansas Whitewater trial, but dismissed due to her Trek attire, ever present "accessories" and the need to be called "commander."
Helmed by filmmaker and editor Roger Nygard, the picture never fully reveals whether it's poking fun at, or paying homage to these people, and one can't wonder if -- and certainly hope that -- some of what occurs has been staged or at least somewhat exaggerated.
Case in point is an auction of a rubber Klingon forehead mold that soon goes beyond the one- thousand dollar mark, and a female fan -- a "Spiner femme" -- who has so many convention photos of actor Brent Spiner that he's bound to get a restraining order placed on her after seeing this film. Regardless of its sticking with the truth or not, the film's certainly interesting -- in the manner of a roadside car wreck -- and often funny during its eighty-some minute runtime.
Surprisingly, it also has some truly touching moments where fans or the performers from the show recount how "Star Trek" affected their lives for the better. In particular, a story told by James Doohan -- "Scotty" on the original show -- about a suicidal fan who finally pulled their life together in part due to Doohan's care, manages to put a big tug on the heartstrings. That's especially true when the beloved actor tears up from joy, stating that receiving the "all's well" letter from that fan after a long silence was one of the best things that ever happened to him.
Some of the film's better moments, in fact -- especially for those of us who grew up on the original show -- are seeing those cast members and hearing their tales about the whole Trek experience in both their past and present lives. One includes a fun story told by Leonard "Mr. Spock" Nimoy regarding a funny run-in with John Wayne, while another told by Nichelle "Lt. Uhura" Nichols is about getting a fan letter from a little girl who later became quite a star herself.
The odd thing about such moments, however, is that Nygard identities those cast members with on-screen titles, a bizarre move since the only people who are probably going to watch the film are "Trek" fans, and if they can't identify the cast members, then their fans cards certainly need to be revoked.
The documentary does occasionally feel a bit long -- especially when it's seemingly just treading water -- and it's questionable how many people apart from "Trek" fans will want to see it -- let alone pay to do so. Nonetheless, this odd, but amusing little film -- complete with the obligatory shaky, grainy and often out-of-focus camera work -- is certainly one of the most unique, eye- opening experiences of the year. We give "Trekkies" a 6.5 out of 10.