It's weird because I can remember being very young (six or seven) and knowing exactly who Kevin Clash was. I don't really know why I knew that; I was certainly not an Elmo fan (I found Elmo highly irritating for a great long time; my nieces love Elmo, though, and their love of the character helped me develop an appreciation for him I'd never had before) but that didn't matter because I knew Kevin Clash was awesome anyway.
How I knew that, I have no idea. Especially since I didn't really know anything about the guy beyond "he's a Muppeteer and he's awesome" until just now when I watched this movie.
If there was ever any doubt in my mind about the guy, it's gone now.
I tend not to like documentaries that jerk you around. I honestly don't want to see the pitfalls and low points in someone's career most of the time, especially if I know that everything works out in the end. I mean, I guess sometimes it's necessary but I don't like documentaries that wallow in self pity or worse, only to end with "and now everything is wonderful."
Luckily, Being Elmo doesn't do that. It just tells you the story of Kevin Clash, how he started making puppets when he was a child, how he worked on a local television station, how he got to meet Kermit Love and how that led to him working with Jim Henson and Sesame Street. They talk about how he really found Elmo's voice and character when he realized Elmo was all about love, how he won't let anybody else take over Elmo when he's overworked.
There are plenty of crying moments in the movie; obviously they have to talk about when Jim Henson died and they show Elmo meeting with a little girl whose Make A Wish wish was to meet Elmo. Every time Kevin Clash talked about his daughter I got a little weepy, and they show him giving a tour of the Muppet workshop to a boy who, just like him, has been making puppets since he was a little kid.
There's nothing overly dramatic about Being Elmo. It's just one guy's life story. It just happens that the guy is Kevin Clash, who is a kind and lovable person. And that makes his life story interesting to watch.
End of line.
-Sally
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4 comments:
Labyrinth.
That's why you've always known who Kevin Clash is and why you knew he was cool from the get-go.
proffy, who knew you when
Of course! That makes more sense than if I had thought it was Dinosaurs or something.
They talk a bit about Labyrinth in Being Elmo but don't mention Dinosaurs at all.
Weird.
But then, I'd forgotten all about Dinosaurs, too.
But I'd just watched Labyrinth the other night.
Still awesome.
I think Brad and Nikki are still borrowing my copy of Labyrinth. I should get that back.
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