Review of Poultry in Motion: Truth Is Stranger Than Chicken

This is a documentary about the making of Poultrygeist, one of the better Troma offerings. The film was gory, immoral fun, poking fun at everything from fast food chains to the Taliban. You'd have thought that it would have been a hoot to shoot, but this look behind the scenes reveals a world of friction and arguments, with just about everyone driven to fury, tears and sometimes out and out violence!! It all starts promisingly, with the cast and crew volunteering to come work on the film, many giving their time and efforts for free, out of love of Troma and because they think it will be a blast. We see some amusing rehearsal scenes, where everyone is having a great time. But when the cameras start to roll, things quickly descend into tragedy and farce. The director annoys just about everyone he comes in contact with. They fall behind schedule from day one. Scenes have to to be sliced from the script because there isn't time to shoot them. Actors are left covered in horrible, uncomfortable makeup for 10 or 12 hours and then told they aren't needed for shooting that day. Kaufman decides to film an unscripted dance scene at a time when they're struggling to wrap the movie, as a result of which pretty much all of the intended fight scenes have to be scrapped -- not much fun for the guy who'd spent weeks preparing the cast for the fights!! Most behind the scenes docs like this paint the movie world as a fun, rewarding place, where everyone gets on, everyone loves the scripts, everyone adores the director. You might have to work hard, sure, but your efforts are appreciated and you come away having grown as a person and feeling much better about yourself. This strips all of that BS away and shows it like it really is. Poultrygeist was a bloody slab of fun, enjoyable but throwaway. This, on the other hand, is essential viewing. Worth buying the double disc DVD of the feature if just to see this extra.