Shut Up Little Man

In 1987, two friends moved from Wisconsin to San Francisco. They ended up in a cheap apartment next to a couple of alcoholics who had screaming, profane fights with each other. The fights had some humorous dialogue and the friends ended up recording them. They shared the tapes with friends and something of a cottage industry sprung up as a result. Comic books, magazine articles, a play, and some movie stuff all came out of it. This documentary tracks the whole history of that, seeks out the fighting neighbors and talks to everyone involved (that's still alive). Problem is, every single person involved is a scumbag. You've got the alcoholic jackasses. You've got the friends who, instead of calling the cops, record the fights - by taping a microphone to a ski pole and putting it outside the neighbors' window. Knowing that the fights sometimes turn violent they naturally....make calls designed to provoke more fights and conflict. Then, when it's all said and done, they set up a web site years later and sell the tapes and CDs to profit off of the misery of the neighbors. You've got the various artists, playwrights, and movie people who use the tapes as the basis for their own works, all without talking to the neighbors. Or the movie guys who simply get the neighbors drunk and have them sign releases in return for $10. The title of the documentary comes from words that one of the neighbors would yell at the other frequently. Admittedly, a lot of the fights ARE pretty funny but, in the end, it's hard to get past the exploitative nature of the whole thing and not be disgusted by absolutely everyone. 5/10.