10. American Movie (1999)
American Movie (often subtitled
The Making of Northwestern) is freakin' hilarious. That's all there is to it. This documentary, which chronicles one Mark Borchardt and his long, arduous attempts to finish his short film
Coven (which, by the way, he can't pronounce) feels like it might be a mockumentary in the
Spinal Tap style. Luckily for us, it's all completely true: watch as Borchardt exploits his poor elderly uncle for funding, bickers with his best friend, and, uh, gets drunk. A lot. Aside from being massively interesting if you've ever attempted something like this yourself,
American Movie is also notable for the intense passion that Mark clings to when it comes to making movies - despite the fact this doc sort of mocks him for his futile drive towards mainstream success, you can also tell that director Chris Smith feels some genuine love for the guy. You probably won't learn much about how to write well with this one, but you'll certainly learn a lot about how
not to write. Still, for the most part, this is brilliant, candid viewing - and to be fair, Borchardt isn't entirely without talent. There's a Sam Raimi-like quality to his work that's never anything but admirable, and you can't help but just kind of will him towards something even vaguely resembling success.