AIR GUITAR NATION film review

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AIR GUITAR NATION

One of the year's more entertaining documentaries is the low budget Air Guitar Nation which takes a subject which most people would regard as silly and shows how for its practitioners it is anything but.

The film chronicles how the first ever Air Guitar championships were born in the United States in the early part of this decade, and the battle for supremacy between its two chief proponents: David Jung aka C-Diddy, whose wild samurai outfits and orchestra-like movements make him an onstage sight to behold, and Dan Crane, aka Bjorn Turoque, whose style has a more streets/punk edge to it.

The two battle coast to coast for the right to represent the US in the annual championships in Finland, and once we get to Scandinavia it's a completely different kettle of frets. The Finns take Air Guitar very seriously indeed, applying a quasi-mystical status to it, and all participants in the finals must attend an amusing boot camp to hone their skills before the big day.

All good documentaries need good characters and the rivalry between C-Diddy and Bjorn Turoque provides the necessary chemistry. They each have a strong desire to be number one, but it's a relationship which is ultimately friendly and respectful.

This is great post-pub late night viewing which doesn't take itself too seriously, and you'll find it difficult not to want to have a go yourself once you've watched it. As one of the cast says 'You don't have to be a rock star to be a rock star'.

Paul Hurley