Trekkies

[1997, Movie]

Trekkies: Review

Hopelessly devoted: Gabriel Koerner, Denise Crosby and Will Wheaton

Are Trekkies all pathetic losers who fill up the gaping holes in their lives with fantasies and trivial expertise derived from the long-running TV and movie franchise? Well, on the strength of this movie it's hard to dismiss such a harsh characterization out of hand: Most of the extreme Trek fans it features are obsessed in a big way, and if they were your children you'd probably be thinking therapy. Plenty of them, of course, are way too old to be their parents' problems anymore — old enough to know better, but still childishly loyal to the prime directive. You might even call the film a freak show, featuring as it does oddballs like Barbara Adams, the Whitewater juror who appeared daily at the court house in her Star Trek uniform and apparently believes in all sincerity that she's a Starfleet commanding officer stationed in Arkansas. Or Dr. Dennis Bourguignon, a Florida dentist whose entire office is elaborately Trek-orated, right down to the uniformed hygenists. So okay, they're nutty. But as a whole the Trekkies who rattle through this film are also surprisingly sweet and decent: Behind ferocious, homemade Klingon warrior costumes lurk secret do-gooders whose spare time is spent organizing charity miniature golf games. Even wacky Commander Adams earnestly tries to live up to Star Trek's naively high-minded ideals: living in peace with one's neighbors; treating everyone equally, regardless of color or outward appearance; fulfilling one's civic responsibilities to the best of one's ability; working towards a better, more humane future. Detours from reality can go to far darker places. Actress Denise Crosby, of Star Trek: The Next Generation acts as sporadic narrator, and the film features interviews with various cast members, most of whom have learned not to speak badly of the fans who are fattening their retirement funds. --Maitland McDonagh