A you-have-to-see-it-to-believe-it documentary, Patrick Cady and Brit McAdams' Triviatown focuses on the small town of Stevens Point, WI, where madness erupts once a year in the form of a trivia contest involving some 450 people. Now 35 years old and still going strong, the contest finds ordinary people gathered in teams in basements, garages, and converted storefronts for 54 hours, fielding questions posed by “The Oz,” a grizzled local personality who created the contest and annually reads his queries over a college radio station. Teams have the duration of two songs (played by the Oz between questions) to phone in their answers and accrue points, and a winner is declared at the end of the sleepless ordeal. Triviatown follows the proceedings by posting cameras in a number of team locations, capturing the excitement, frustration, and exhaustion the players experience over the two-day-plus competition. What really makes the film fascinating, however, is the material on the participating individuals themselves, particularly their year-round obsessive preparations: taking notes on every movie, commercial, TV show, news item, etc., serious players compile thousands of minor details into oversized reference volumes, creating veritable libraries of arcane nonsense. And then, of course, there are the reasons behind why these folks continue to do all this—the deep motivations that speak to old grudges (most of the players have known one another all their lives), lapsed pride, marital tensions, family grief, and so much else. DVD extras include bonus footage. An absorbing slice of Americana, this is highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (T. Keogh)
Triviatown
(2006) 85 min. DVD: $19.95 ($89.95 w/PPR). Media Targeting Associates. Volume 23, Issue 4
Triviatown
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