Crazy Legs Conti: Zen And The Art Of Competitive Eating

DVD released: July 24, 2007.
Approximate running time: 72 minutes
Aspect ratio: 1.33.1 Fullframe
Rating: NR
Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
DVD Release: Blue Underground
Region Coding: NTSC Region 0

Retail Price: $19.95


Reviewed by:

Troy Howarth on September 1, 2007.
Quick links: [video] [audio] [extras] [overall]
The Film
"Crazy Legs" Conti decides to follow his dream of entering the competitive eating circuit....
 
Once upon a time, American culture was fixated by baseball and football.  Gradually, other more eccentric sports began to emerge, but none have taken off with as much gusto - and against all common sense - as competitive eating.  A bizarre subculture of ego-driven individuals have emerged in its wake, none more visible than Japanese phenom Takeru Kobayaski - to look at him, he looks fit and ordinary, without an ounce of fat in evidence, but make no mistake: the kid can eat anybody under the table.  Does eating really count as a sport, though?  Depends on who you ask, but for those who've dedicated their lives to the pursuit of ruining their stomachs and intestines, the answer would be a resounding yes.
 
Crazy Legs Conti: Zen and the Art of Competitive Eating tells the tale of a more marginal figure in the competitive eating circuit.  A long time fan of the spectacle of competitive eating, Conti initially made ends meet as a technician on film crews.  Tired by the long hours, Conti gave up film work and began accepting any job he could find - whether it be washing windows, donating sperm, or acting as a nude model for aspiring artists.  No, I'm not making any of this up.  Real life is often stranger than fiction, and Crazy Legs Conti: Zen and the Art of Competitive Eating is ample evidence of this.  The documentary follows Conti as he decides to enter the eating circuit, and charts his progress as he wins some titles and loses others before facing off against Kobayashi and others in the (in)famous Famous Nathan's Coney Island Hot Dog Eating Contest, known to fans as the Super Bowl of Competitive Eating.  With his crazy hair and passion for bad 80s movies and Hawaiian shirts, Conti comes off as an agreeably eccentric personality - relatively articulate and intelligent in interviews, yet sometimes given to pompous ruminations on his life's work.
 
Producer/directors Danielle Franco and Chris Kenneally do a splendid job of keeping the momentum going - the audience is encouraged to root for Conti from the get-go, and the gradual accumulation of weird quirks in his personality only serve to humanize him and his quest.  The film also does a fine job of detailing the sometimes egotistical nature of the circuit, dominated as it is by a plethora of oddballs who might have a hard time holding down a steady job but who have no problem holding down pounds of food at a time.  The filmmakers seem aware of the absurdity of it all, but they stop short of mocking Conti and his cohorts: for them, this is an important part of their lives, and the filmmakers pay due respect to this.
 
With its quirky sense of humor and endearingly odd protagonist, Crazy Legs Conti: Zen and the Art of Competitive Eating emerges as a likeably skewed portrait of the American dream.

 




Video 4/5

Blue Underground's release is top notch.  The film was shot on video, and the fullframe transfer looks as good as can be expected.  Detail is sharp, color accurately rendered, and there are no discernible authoring defects in evidence.



Audio 4/5
The stereo soundtrack is clean and clear.  The live sound is sometimes a little raw, but the mixing sounds professional and dialogue is always clear and discernible amid the background hustle and bustle.  As with the video quality, the audio is limited by the crude techniques of filming, but it never comes across as a sloppy amateur job.


Extras 5/5

Appropriate given the subject matter, the disc is literally stuffed to the gills with extras.  The feature itself boasts a commentary by Conti and the filmmakers - they're clearly at easy around each other, and they share some fun, relaxed insights into the making and Conti's outlook on life.  A whole slew of outtakes, deleted scenes, featurettes and other goodies are likewise given the option of an audio commentary.  The end result could be seen as overkill, but damn it if it isn't interesting to delve into the community of competitive eating and to see what it is that makes these people tick.

 


Overall 4/5
A quirky and engaging documentary gets the deluxe treatment from Blue Underground.


Film Rating DVD Rating
Director: Danielle Franco And Chris Kenneally
Film:

Writers: N/A
Video:

Released: 2004
Audio:

Cast:

Crazy Legs Conti

Extras:

Overall:

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