Movie Monitor: Air Guitar Nation

Air Guitar Nation

2006 Documentary

In this documentary from filmmaker Alexandra Lipsitz, the cameras roll to capture the fierce competitive spirit that defined the first annual U.S. Air Guitar Championship. Staged in Finland and featuring some of the fastest-fingered shredders on the planet, the U.S. Air Guitar Championship would bring a hobby once contained to the bedroom directly into the spotlight for all to enjoy. Featured jam sessions and interviews with both the performers and their "airhead" groupies offer a humorous look at an unlikely competition driven by pure showmanship.

Director: Alexandra Lipsitz

Starring: Peter Cilella, Dan Crane, Adam Crystal, Gordon Hintz, David S. Jung

39 Reviews 2 Awards

Reviews

When C-Diddy (a.k.a. David Jung), in his samurai superman suit, does his note-perfect, lip-twisting, belly-jiggling manic mime of Extreme's ''Play With Me,'' it's hard not to grin and admit that, yes, this is almost an art form.

Owen Gleiberman - Entertainment Weekly

29 November 2012
Flat out, Air Guitar Nation (winner of the Audience Award at South by Southwest 06) is a damn good time.

- Austin Chronicle

29 November 2012
In this pitch-perfect documentary about the very real rise of air guitar competition in the United States, and two of its top performers, stony thoughts will arise as to whether one is suddenly trapped inside a satire that got wrapped in a reality. Or vice versa, man.

- The San Francisco Chronicle

29 November 2012
Without their efforts, ordinary moviegoers would never know that air-guitar competitors must craft a series of one-minute routines, some to songs they've only just heard, or that their efforts are judged on the 4.0 to 6.0 scale used to rank competitive figure skaters. Important to know? No. Fascinating? Absolutely.

Maitland McDonagh - TV Guide

29 November 2012
It's one of the charms of Air Guitar Nation that much of it plays like a mockumentary in which you're not quite sure who's pulling your leg. But it's real, even if the guitars are not.

Kevin Crust - Los Angeles Times

29 November 2012

Awards

Best Overlooked Film

Central Ohio Film Critics Association (2008)
Best Feature Documentary

Boulder International Film Festival (2007)

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