Geniune Nerd
 Rufus  rates it:    Community rates it:
   140 of 275 readers found this review helpful.

I am always a sucker for a great documentary. Watching one on a certain moment in history, or person should be thought provoking, at times potentially funny, insightful, and at the end of it possibly make you question or take your own view away from what you saw. GENUINE NERD is a documentary about someone you probably have never heard of. I know I really didn’t. The man is Toby Radloff. He is the film’s said nerd and seems to relish in being himself, on his own terms. The problem with GENUINE NERD is that at the end of the whole film you still do not know Toby much more than coming in the film for the first time.

What we do learn about Toby is that the man loves hamburgers. White Castles his personal fave, and we start out with him taking a long ride in his car (and I mean long - to another city altogether) to get some white castles. I’m a fan of the Slider myself, but this was in daylight and while sober. Now that is some cojones that our Toby has. The film switches to only the briefest moments of Toby’s past, and upbringing or daily life in general. Instead we get about 5 minutes of Toby showing us some painting in his home, and some tiny trinkets that are on a counter. This seemed to stretch out longer than I cared to watch, but watch I did. It was how Toby described each item with such seriousness and compassion, even talking about the neighbor hood in his “straight faced” manner that made me keep watching. Watching the man showcase his “Nerd Mobile” in his driveway seemed much longer than it needed to be, with moments of pure silence thrown in, yet you find yourself continuing to watch. This just goes to show how interesting this Toby Radloff is.

Did you know that Toby was friends with AMERICAN SPLENDOR creator Harvey Pekar? Toby was even featured in the Paul Giamatti movie AMERICAN SPLENDOR and played by Judah Friedlander. If you didn’t know then this film clues you in enough times. That was really one of the problems that I had with this film. Instead on the man of Toby Radloff, most of the film just talks about other movies that he has been in. This also seems like a nice commercial for the next film that he will be in. I felt that this really took away from who this genuine nerd is, and more on focusing on a few things that he has done or who he knows.

The best moments are of Toby just talking about his thoughts and feelings on a subject. Watching these gave you a sort of connection into who this man is, and frankly they were the films best and funniest moments. While this is a nice video diary of Toby, I still needed more for it to be a good documentary. There was no direction to the film, and I needed more of an arch or a window into who and why is Toby Radloff. I needed more of his life, as opposed to moments of talking to the camera on a random topic or him going over to someone’s house for dinner. While Toby shows a large heart in the film, more focus was severely needed to give the movie itself any heart. While this was still an entertaining glance into someone’s thoughts on a subject, this was not a great documentary on a person’s life.

If you are already a fan or friend of Toby then I know you will enjoy this, however if not then there is really no other reason to jump on this one other than to hear the random thoughts of a man you don't know. I will admit though while Toby still remains a mystery, after listening to the man you will smile.

Added:  Wednesday, June 28, 2006

Language: eng[ Did you find this review helpful?  Yes  No ]
[ Back to reviews index ]

Want to comment on this review?
Register here for a free user account, and you'll be able to.