trekkies , roger nygard 's energetic and hilarious documentary , brings viewers into the world of the star trek conventions .
the beauty of the film is that it is good old fashion fun for trekkies and non - fans alike .
( the film generally writes off the trekkies vs .
trekker polemic as not worth arguing about . )
the good - spirited movie trekkies easily forces even the most cynical viewer into fits of uncontrollable , loud giggles , yet the picture treats its subject matter with respect and a certain awe .
denise crosby , who played tasha yar on " star trek : the next generation , " serves as the host .
in the opening credits the movie reminds us that trekkies are the only fan group listed in the oxford english dictionary ( oed ) .
( the oed cites a february , 1976 caption in the " new yorker " as the first recorded usage of the word . ) unless you 've been to the conventions , i posit that you have no idea of the dedication of some of the fans .
one pointed out , apologetically , that the stripe on his new uniform was slightly inaccurate .
others talked about how many star trek conventions they had attended , several dozen being typical and hundreds not unheard of .
my personal favorite fan is sir speedy photocopying worker barbara adams .
arguably the most famous of all the trekkies , she wears her uniform every waking hour as many die - hard fans do .
her claim to fame is that , as a juror on the whitewater trial , she wore it in court as well .
"
every day i would walk past the reporters with a vulcan - like stoicism , " she says , describing her way of dealing with the crowd of reporters who became obsessed with her obsession .
she does n't quite understand all of the uproar .
"
i 'm an officer of the federation 24 hours a day , " she reminds us .
her fealty to her hobby approaches that of a religious faith .
along with the laugher the show evokes , there is an equal measure of sincere appreciation for people with such loyalty .
and their infectious joy provokes a certain envy of their enjoyment .
few other avocations could give this much satisfaction .
these people are having the time of their lives .
( for the record , i 'm not a star trek fan although i have seen some of the movies . )
the film interviews the various star trek series 's stars as well as its fans .
the stars had thought the convention idea was a lark and would soon fade , but over twenty years later , the conventions are still going strong .
filled with anecdotes , the show talks about the happenings at the various conventions .
at one , the actor who plays q was so sick that he thought he would have to cancel .
after appearing briefly , he drank some water and left .
they decided to auction off his half - empty glass , joking that it had the " q virus .
"
the guy who won the bidding immediately drank the water and screamed to the crowd that he now had the q virus too .
with dedication comes a certain amount of stupidity .
not just flitting among people , the documentary takes the time to let you get to know the trekkies .
one guy is a trekkie cross - dresser , another dresses her cat , and then there is the dentist .
the dentist has his entire office made up to look like a star trek set .
he , his oral hygienists , his receptionist , his wife , and his kids wear the outfits all of the time .
it appears that his workers are permitted to take them off when they go home , but not his family . for variety , he and his family do change characters from time to time .
he says his patients like it .
well , there was this one complainer , but he had a problem with his bill anyway .
there are summer schools for klingon with ph .
d .
linguists to teach the language .
hamlet is now available in klingon , albeit perhaps not at your local bookstore , and they are working on translating the bible .
they even sell united federation passports that are real enough that trekkies have used them to fool customs , even u . s . customs .
the movie bogs down only briefly when it tries to argue the series 's larger meaning about diversity and humanitarian concerns .
sandwiched in - between the levity , the switch in tone does n't work .
the incessantly up - beat film ends with a singing elvis impersonator .
he fits right in .
trekkies runs a breezy
1 : 26 .
it is not rated but would be pg for brief sexual references and would be fine for all ages .
Output: P