Air Guitar Nation SKINNYFest

Film Review by Will White | 14 Aug 2006
Film title: Air Guitar Nation SKINNYFest
Were you born to rock? Absolutely not, but Bjorn Turoque was. 'Air Guitar Nation' is the story of two men who want to make it to the top of their chosen profession by competing at the annual World Championship of Air Guitar in Finland. Bjorn and C-Diddy are both from the east coast of the USA but they come from opposite sides of the Air Guitaring World. C-Diddy is the ultimate showman: a second generation Korean-American, he sports a Kimono and a Hello Kitty backpack and relies on the actors craft to wow the notoriously demanding judges. For many, including Turoque, C-Diddy has forgotten the most important thing – the music. Consequently, Turoque's style moulds a contemporary NYC aesthetic with an Old School respect for the power of shredding geeetar. What 'AGN' suggests is that there is no Right or Wrong here, only Rock.
This is a pleasant, cheery documentary and a fine example of how to choose a great subject and let it do the work; once you stumble upon an off-kilter world like this, all that's left to do is to point the air camera in the right direction and air press the record button. Bjorn and C are extremely engaging personas and the scene which has grown up around Competitive Air Guitaring is populated with genuinely talented and likeable people who allow this film to strike just the right note between theatrical self-righteousness and irony. Two air thumbs up.
August 22 (22.15), Cineworld.
August 25 (19.30), Cineworld.
£7.95 (£5.20).