Cam Newton and George Hardy have two things in common. They’re both Auburn men and they’re both the best at what they do.
Cam is the best college football player in the country this year, and maybe ever.
George starred in the worst movie ever made – but it’s the best worst movie ever made… so best, so worst they made a movie about the movie: Best Worst Movie.
The 2009 documentary (just released to DVD) is about both the making of, and the cult following that has sprung up around Troll 2 (1990), the Les Miles of horror films, which inadvertently abandons cinematic convention like plot and coherent dialog (and even a title that references the story–here are no trolls in Troll 2) with such awkward sincerity it broaches the sublime. George Hardy stars in both, first as the strong-jawed, starvation-practiced, see-no-evil dad who forces his family to endure the most ill-conceived vacation ever in Troll 2, and then in Best Worst Movie as the lovable Alexander City dentist and— it’s almost too good to be true—former mid-70s Auburn cheerleader coming to comical terms with his status as a cult film icon.
Hipsters and geeks and Joe Movie Buffs have, through the magic grapevines of what Hardy calls the “MySpace Generation,” embraced Troll 2, performing its most poignant scenes for each other a la The Rocky Horror Picture Show at annual viewing parties and festivals. The catchphrase of choice for Troll 2 enthusiasts is Hardy’s most memorable line, forcefully delivered after he snaps out of a time-freezing spell cast on him by his dead father-in-law, only to discover his son Joshua (Michael Paul Stephenson, who directed Best Worst Movie) urinating on a buffet of slime-covered pastries in order to keep his family from eating them and thereby summoning a pack of vegetarian goblins: “You can’t piss on hospitality! I won’t allow it!”
TWER staffers recently pilgrimaged to Alexander City to interview Hardy (receiving some free dental work in the process), and we hope a fuller treatment of “the rich man’s Craig T. Nelson”—his new life in the hipster spotlight, and his old life on the Barfield “Bodda Getta” sidelines—will be featured on TWER after Auburn wins the national championship.
But in the meantime, we thought it fitting to have him send a message to all of the Thayer Evans’ and Pete Thamels and Joe Schads of the world… to all the Bryant-Denny DJs… to all the Heisman Trophy voters who pretended to make a statement with blank ballots or bogus votes… to the Oregon Ducks… to all of the trolls out there trying to keep a fellow champion down:
You can buy Best Worst Movie here. And you should.
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Cam?? An Aubun alum?? News to me….
Going by the strict dictionary definition, of course… but we changed it to ‘men’, for those without strict dictionaries. Works better anyway.
Actually, I prefer to call Cam an alumnus. The dictionary definition of alumni is a male graduate or former student of a school, college, or university. While he will not be a graduate as far as a diploma is concerned he will be a former student. But technically he graduated this year too.
grad·u·ate – a. to change gradually or by degrees.
b. To advance to a new level of skill, achievement, or activity
check and double check. alumni and graduate! Yep, bored and full of beer…I digress
Saw BWM at SXSW last year. Hardy is such a hilarious sweet guy. I look forward to more coverage of him.
Check out George’s dentist (dental?) glasses still around his neck. This was filmed minutes after he performed some impromptu dental work on TWER’s teeth. That jacket is immaculately tuff.
I had dinner with him 3 nights ago. If only I had known about this…I could have teased him mercilessly. Great guy, btw. Very entertaining.