Starring: David Farrier, Dylan Reeve, David Starr
Distributor: Vendetta Films
Runtime: 90 mins. Reviewed in Aug 2016
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Tickled! Tickled pink! Ticklish! They sound rather funny if you repeat them often enough. And this film begins with scenes which are rather funny, a blend of ha-ha and peculiar.
If you would judge this film just by the trailer, you might imagine that it was just about a sport you had never heard of, Endurance Tickling. Well, it is, but more, much more.
David Farrier is a New Zealand documentary filmmaker, eagerly on the lookout for the odd tidbit that might prove an interesting and entertaining story. When he came across some video material about Endurance Tickling as a sport, naturally enough he followed it up – and bit off far more than he would have to chew.
The videos, mainly with young men, being tickled by other young men, seemed more than a touch bizarre, the tickled men giggling and laughing – as one would. So, he and a friend, Dylan Reeve, not only decided to follow through but check out a name and address, Jane O’Brien Media, that was credited on these videos. All well and good, except that as they pursued their inquiries, a representative of Jane O’Brien started to email, warning them off, even threatening legal action.
One of the first responses was for three Americans to go to Auckland to meet with – confront – the would-be film-makers. What else does a New Zealand journalist do but decide not just to follow it up but for he and his partner to travel to the US.
If this sounds intriguing, and it is, then it is well worthwhile sharing this investigative journalist journey and explore the world of the sport as well as some of the personalities behind it. David Farrier does quite a good job of following up leads, finding people willing to talk on camera, running the risk of legal action and threats, filming all the way, to end up with a documentary that was not what he thought it would be, but much better.
Yes, there is a sport, and there are many videos available, especially on social media. In talking with some young men who became involved, they discovered a mysterious story, auditions, tickling sessions, and the three people who visited New Zealand involved in the filming. Once they had discovered someone who was professionally interested in this kind of tickling and who would help them with their investigation, the film becomes something of a detective story. They were trying to unravel a mystery, starting with a rather glamorous photo of a woman who sponsored the videos in the 1990s but then had disappeared, then a personality who had been involved in promotion and PR, which led them to an American teacher who seemed to have been involved but who had disappeared from the scene.
By this time, some audiences might have guessed what happened, but mainly we are carried along with the momentum, a visit to a group in Michigan and the interview with a practitioner and his family, to New York City and interview with a lawyer who was sending David Farrier a letter of please explain.
By the end of the film, the mystery is solved, but not necessarily the mysteriousness of the sport, questions about those who are addicted, and why, to the spectacle of young men enduring such tickling.
David Farrier himself does the commentary and Dylan Reeve appears, especially when they have to decide whether they will continue with the project or not. Just as well they did.
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