"Fame-ish" (2020) Review
Jeff Nimoy's "Fame-ish" is a soul searching tale of course correction after receiving a restorative dose of past glory. Playing a fictionalised version of himself, Nimoy is an out of work creative (former Emmy Winner, anime director/voice-over artist) softening the blow of a drained bank account and no work on the horizon with borrowed mood stabilisers when he receives a call. An offer that his impending rent won't let him refuse, to attend a convention as a paid VIP guest. In a trip down memory lane, swarmed by fandom and past peers, he gets a chance to stare beyond who he thinks he should be, to find purpose.
"Fame-ish", written/directed and starring Nimoy gets some things so very right about convention life. The "corporate hotel" set is just such an empty, transactional husk of a place. In the bland walls and even blander conference rooms, the fans and creators bring the life and colour to the entire space. "Fame-ish" was shot art two anime conventions in Ontario Canada and the setting of the film Madison, Wisconsin in the U.S.A. It's hard to imagine even Gordon Willis (arguably the most celebrated cinematographer ever) being able to create a mood in these fluorescent, transient hives. These spaces receive life and colour in the form of endearing, real fans - enlisted to play themselves in autograph lines, panels and meet-and-greets.
Nimoy's most divinely structured directorial moment in the film is the way that he immerses us into the experience of the con. Despite the desperation of the circumstances that bring him back into the circuit, "Fame-ish" opens with Allison Powell's Bobbi, a talent handler, gleefully navigating the maze of the hotel. She stops to correct signage, to compliment cosplay and even jumps in for an impromptu dance with some cosplayers preparing for the festivities. The perspective feels like you're viewing the world from as your ten-year-old self. This big place is filled with exciting and passionate people around every turn. Nimoy gives this fan POV early. It's in that moment you know that the despite the self-loathing that follows, this is a movie that cherishes fans. Nimoy's character has an obsession for sanitising hands and selectively pushing back on physical interactions with his supporters - while harsh in the film - now rings true to a world where cons must take post-COVID-19 shape.
The melodrama and the cabin fever between colleagues and con "groupies" lacked a lot of oxygen for this reviewer. Nimoy and love interest Nikki Boyer get together with hyperactive hyperdrive speed, and yet their lightning connection feels emotionally shallow. Nimoy sparks a romance with Boyer (star of Angie Tribeca, Host of "Dying for Sex" is playing her fictionalised self). This hook-up aggravates Boyer's "on and off again ex Brian Donovan (star of Digimon, Naruto is playing his fictionalised self). Margo Graff plays Lana, a con groupie who attempts a "nooner" fling with Nimoy becomes an excuse for the talent to start acting out to sabotage one another publicly. It's trashy, classless and petty and they're all words that I've heard from sources that describe what happens behind the scenes of comic cons, so why would that be different for an anime specific con?
It's hard to play your fictional self and commit to the dissociative quality of the performance. There are a couple of times where you can see the yearning to wink through, which would have spelt total disaster. There is a moment in the film, while it may not have intended to portray it in this manner, trivialised a character being at the end of one's rope that left a bad taste in my mouth for the uplifting conclusion.
"Fame-ish" is kind of "Chef"-"ish" and "Jay and Silent Bob: Reboot" - "ish".
★★/★★★★
"Fame-ish" was released on 5/11/20. It's available on iTunes, Amazon Prime Video, Google Play, Playstation, Xbox, VUDU, FandangoNOW, Vimeo On Demand, YouTube
