American Carny

Like a Tom Waits song come to life, American Carny pays tribute to a vanishing breed: the circus sideshow performer. In his feature-length debut, director Nick Basile speaks with several Eastern Seaboard-based practitioners, most notably the engaging Todd Robbins, a fire and light bulb-eating barker (or "outside talker") who estimates that he has “ eaten over 3,000 light bulbs." Other subjects include bearded woman Jennifer "Xenobia" Miller, “professional lunatic” Harley Newman, publisher James Taylor (Shocked and Amazed magazine), and Sideshows by the Seashore proprietor Dick Zigun. Basile also visits a show in New Jersey, a dime museum in Maryland, and a gathering in Pennsylvania. Each speaker shares some history about his or her profession, which helps to provide context (though only Robbins talks about his childhood), and Basile supplements their comments with photos, posters, animated sequences, and appropriately themed music (incorporating sitar and bandoneón). Introduced by magician Penn Jillette (reading a passage from P.T. Barnum), American Carny offers entertainment and education for open-minded viewers—the Great Nippulini's skin-stretching act is not for the squeamish—but it lacks the narrative drive of nonfiction forerunners such as Errol Morris' Fast, Cheap & Out of Control or Kirby Dick's Sick, which also spotlight individuals involved in offbeat occupations. DVD extras include Basile's 1999 short Slasher Flick and a featurette on the film score. Optional. Aud: P. (K. Fennessy)