Much has been made of the quirky touches that director A.J. Schnack gives his feature-film debut, Gigantic (A Tale of Two Johns), a documentary about the alternative-pop duo They Might Be Giants. The band is well-known for working in a wide range of musical styles (punk and New Wave, power-pop, country, folk, jazz, etc.) and writing about subject matter that you don't normally expect to find in pop songs (cyclops, night-lights, puppet heads, Belgian painter James Ensor, president James K. Polk, etc.), and this film is often as clever and unpredictable as TMBG themselves. It begins with a speech from Illinois senator Paul Simon, and it includes a parody of Ken Burns' Civil War documentary somewhere in the middle, a scene in which a group of high school students try to interpret the lyrics of "Particle Man," and a few interludes in which such funnypeople as Harry Shearer, Janeane Garofalo, Andy Richter, and Michael McKean give dramatic readings of TMBG lyrics.
Despite these unconventional touches, though, Gigantic's narrative arc is pretty straightforward. The two bandmates -- paunchy, bespectacled singer-guitarist John Flansburgh and wiry, floppy-haired singer-keyboardist-accordionist John Linnell -- take us from their school days in Lincoln, Massachusetts in the 1970s, to their move to Brooklyn in the early '80s and the performance-art scene out of which they formed TMBG, to the creation of their trademark "dial-a-song" service, through the latter half of the '80s when they became the most successful indie band of that time ("That's like being the world's tallest midget," Flansburgh remarks in an interview), through their move from an independent record label to the major label Elektra and their switch from a duo sound to a full-band sound in the first half of the '90s (much to the dismay of many of their early fans), up to their late-'90s film and TV work after they got dropped by Elektra. In addition to some terrific music-video clips and archival footage of the Johns, many of their former and current associates are on hand to help tell their story. Of course, there are a few too many fan testimonials, and there isn't a whole lot of information about the Johns' personal lives (although both Johns sport wedding bands, Linnell has a son named Henry, and Flansburgh's wife Robin is alluded to as the singer of "Dr. Evil," TMBG's song for 1999's Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me).
This backstory is interwoven with scenes of the Johns in action, circa 2001: They record Mink Car, their first studio album in 5 years; they perform a big show at the Polish National Home (from which much of the film's concert footage was taken); they drop by Late Night With Conan O'Brien and The Daily Show With Jon Stewart; Flansburgh takes us into his home studio and records a dial-a-song demo; Linnell takes his son to the park and laments about not getting to see him much because of touring; and the Johns give an in-store performance at a Tower Records in New York to celebrate the midnight release of the Mink Car CD (in a sad coincidence, just hours before the World Trade Center attacks on 9/11). The film turns unexpectedly touching as the Johns each discuss what the other brings to the table (the showmanship and business smarts of the outgoing Flansburgh, the melodic gifts of the introverted Linnell) and open up about their own feelings of inadequacy (Flansburgh as a musician and songwriter, Linnell as an "essential" part of the band). Otherwise, the film refrains from taking itself too seriously, presenting the Johns not as great men, but as a couple of smart, adorable, funny, talented, independent-minded and basically decent guys who -- with their integrity, strong friendship and unique musical collaboration -- have managed to achieve success (however modest and unlikely) on their own terms for over 20 years.
P.S.: I won't even try to describe the wealth of extra material included on this disc, but suffice it to say that I highly recommend everything under "bonus materials" (additional live performances, a few audio-only goodies, the hilarious promotional video for their 1990 LP Flood, etc.) and "music videos," as well as the 2 deleted scenes and the 3 extra Polish National Home performances; these are certainly worthy supplements to the film. The "raw footage and interviews" stuff is mostly hit-or-miss, although I enjoyed the "Doctor Worm" sound-check, the radio-show performance of "Cowtown," and the amusing exchange between Flansburgh and his wife about buying a new belt.
P.P.S.: Gigantic (A Tale of Two Johns) has no MPAA rating, but I think it would merit a hard PG-13 or a light R for brief strong language. Ultimately, though, the Johns themselves come across as positive role models, and their story could be inspiring to older kids. I highly recommend this film for ages 14 and up.
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